The "smell" of Corals as an Indicator of Reef Health

Every organism releases a distinct mix of volatile gases that makes up their smell and we are learning that

these "smells" can tell us a lot about health. Some individual gases that make up the overall smell even

have the ability to influence how an organism copes with stress, and once released from reefs, these gases

can affect atmospheric processes.

The research, led by Dr Caitlin Lawson in the Climate Change Cluster at UTS, discovered that across the

coral species studied on Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, the abundance and chemical

diversity of their gas emissions fell significantly during heat stress experiments. The findings are

published in the journal Global Change Biology.Recent mass bleaching events, driven by heat stress, have

largely caused a 50 per cent loss of Great Barrier Reef corals in the past 25 years. Climate forecasts

suggest some Great Barrier Reef areas may bleach again in 2021.Despite their importance, these volatile

gases have received little attention in tropical coral reefs. This study is the first to explore the overall

"smell" of healthy and stressed corals, identifying a distinct chemical diversity.

"Our results provide the first insights into the range of gases produced by reef-building corals and

highlight a diverse suite of compounds that may play potentially important -- but previously unrecognised

-- roles in maintaining healthy reef functioning," Dr Lawson said."Our results also reveal that heat stress

dramatically decreases the chemical diversity, quantity and functional potential of these important

compounds, which could further impact the capacity of corals to cope with increasing temperatures."Co-

author Dr Jean-Baptiste Raina said he was surprised to discover just how many different chemicals made

up the "smell of these corals," when previously only a handful of compounds had been identified. He says

that number is "just going to keep growing, the more we look into it and the more species we start to

investigate."Further unlocking the complexity and diversity of these reef gases will allow scientists to

understand just how they might be silently driving the health and resilience of deteriorating coral reefs, Dr

Lawson said."We know that within terrestrial ecosystems, some of these compounds can help plants deal

with drought conditions, for example, or heat stress or insect attack," she said."I get really excited about

the signalling that could be happening between different species of corals, or whether they have certain

smells that they'll release that might attract grazing fish if there's too much algae. Is there a certain smell

that indicates corals are more vulnerable?Senior author and leader of the Future Reefs Team at UTS,

Associate Professor David Suggett says the discovery adds to the evidence that, just like humans, reefs

rely on multiple forms of communication to stay healthy."Coral reef diversity is sustained through sights
and sounds, and our work shows that smells also play many critical roles," he said."The discovery of a

loss of these smells under heat stress driven by ocean warming is yet more evidence reefs will change as

we know them unless we urgently tackle climate change."The effect that humanity is having on the

environment is becoming ever-more important. Through our actions we are destroying habitats and

endangering the lives of future generations.

At this point there is no denying the fact that our environment is changing. Hundreds of studies have been

conducted to demonstrate that this is happening and it is having an effect on life around us.However,

many may be unaware of the specific issues that have led to these changes. Terms like “climate change”

and “genetic modification” are commonplace, but without additional information it is difficult to see why

they actually matter.To complicate the matter, many of these issues are linked to one another. The key is

that they are all important challenges that need to be confronted.Here we examine the biggest

environmental problems facing our planet today and why they should matter to you.