Corals are in trouble. All across the globe the diverse and dynamic ecosystems are taking huge hits year after year.

Climate change is a clear and present danger to the persistence of coral reefs, and global reductions in carbon emissions is critical for the future of reefs. But managing local environmental conditions can help give coral a fighting chance according to a new study published in the journal Science, and authored by Deron Burkepile, a professor in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, and Mary Donovan, a former postdoctoral researcher at UC Santa Barbara, now an assistant professor at Arizona State University.