The University of Queensland

Nature Climate Change, February 2013.
Using the degree heating months (DHM) method applied to a global analysis of coral bleaching under various warming scenarios, Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and colleagues have found that preserving >10% of coral reefs would require keeping global warming relative to pre-industrial levels below 1.5°C. Combining the most optimistic thermal adaptation assumptions and IPCC emissions scenarios still results in predictions of long-term degradation of one-third of the world’s coral reefs. Read more...

Current Biology, May 2013.
The feared collapse of coral reef systems can still be avoided with a combination of local and global action, including control of pollution and fishing. Prof Peter Mumby and international colleagues used data from hundreds of studies to develop models of Caribbean reefs and found that local conservation and a low-carbon economy can prevent structural and associated ecosystem services degradation.
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Nature, January 2013.
New data on contemporary carbonate production and accretion rates suggest that current ecological conditions are suppressing the growth potential of shallow Caribbean reefs. Prof Peter Mumby and international colleagues report that current production rates are at least 50% lower than mid- to late-Holocene values and 37% of the 19 reefs surveyed are experiencing net erosion.
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PNAS, December 2012.
Prof John Pandolfi and colleagues showed that when sea surface temperatures increased by about 0.7 degrees Celsius during the last interglacial warm period, the Earth’s equatorial regions saw a sharp decline in coral diversity. The results suggest that the poleward range expansions of reef corals occurring with intensified global warming today may soon be followed by equatorial range retractions. Read more...