Physiological impacts and ecological consequences of thermal stress on reef-building corals

Abstract

The impact of global climate change due to the increase in atmospheric CO₂ level has become greatest threat to organisms as well as ecosystem during the last decades. It has now become an urgent mission to predict its impacts not only to the organisms but also to the ecosystem in marine environment. In this review, I summarize basic knowledge about thermal stress on marine organisms especially focusing on coral reef ecosystem where the corals have been suffering from bleaching phenomena due to global warming trend.