Coral select algae partnerships to ease environmental stress

Corals live symbiotically with a variety of microscopic algae that provide most of the energy corals require, and some algae can make coral more resilient to heat stress. In assessing one of the main reef builders in Hawai’i, Montipora capitata or rice coral, researchers found that the symbiont community in those corals varied significantly in different parts of Kaneohe Bay.