Abstract
Standing genetic variation in fitness-related traits is critical to determine how fast populations can adapt to climate warming but is unknown for many species. Here we show that heritable genetic variation in heat tolerance in reef-building coral populations is widespread and strongly associated with selective pressure imposed by marine heatwaves. Our findings suggest that coral populations may be adapting to warming consistent with recent increases in their upper thermal limits.
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Data availability
All data are available in the Supplementary Information, including the survival and settlement of coral larvae used in experiments and the thermal history of source populations.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the following for assistance with fieldwork, coral spawning and larval experiments: G. Vaughan, D. McParland and A. Mihala at New York University Saadiyat Island; F. Sinniger Harii at the Sesoko Marine Research Station; J. Nielsen, G. Matthews, A. Severati and the National Sea Simulator Team at the Australian Institute of Marine Science; F. McGregor at Coral Bay Research Station; and M. Muniz Barreto and S.-H. Hung (Sandy) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. This research was supported by a University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (E.J.H.), a Hermon Slade Foundation Grant (E.J.H. and D.A.) and a King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Competitive Research Grant (M.A. and E.J.H.).
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E.J.H. designed the study. E.J.H., D.A., E.P.-S. and S.S.-R. undertook fieldwork, coral breeding and experiments. H.D. provided the environmental data. J.A.B., S.H., L.K.B. and M.A. provided resources. E.J.H. and K.M. analysed the data. E.J.H. wrote the paper with contributions from all authors.
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Supplementary Tables 1–6
Supplementary Table 1. Survival of larval families of the brain coral, P. daedalea, from quantitative breeding experiments across the Indo-Pacific. Supplementary Table 2. Quantitative genetic parameters for the heat survival of larval families of the brain coral, P. daedalea, in populations across the Indo-Pacific. Supplementary Table 3. Summary of thermal history variables for populations of the brain coral, P. daedalea, sampled across the Indo-Pacific. Supplementary Table 4. Thermal history predictors of additive genetic variation (VA) for heat survival in populations of the brain coral, P. daedalea, across the Indo-Pacific. Supplementary Table 5. Survival and settlement of larval families of the brain coral, P. daedalea, from a quantitative breeding experiment in a Great Barrier Reef population. Supplementary Table 6. Quantitative genetic parameters for multiple traits of larval families of the brain coral, P. daedalea, in a Great Barrier Reef population.
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Howells, E.J., Abrego, D., Schmidt-Roach, S. et al. Marine heatwaves select for thermal tolerance in a reef-building coral. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 829–832 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02381-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02381-3
