symbiotic

Submarine Caves Offer Octocorals Climate Refuge from Warming Oceans

A submarine cave in the Mediterranean has become an unexpected sanctuary for gorgonian octocorals facing warming seas. Colonies inside the cave show 17 times lower mortality and far higher reproductive success than those exposed to surface conditions. This is measurable evidence that climatic microrefugia can buffer slow-growing species from thermal and light stress. Protecting these hidden refuges may be as urgent as monitoring open-ocean climate indicators.