Surviving Great Barrier Reef corals have higher heatwave resistance

'Ecological memory' shows cumulative impact of climate change, say scientists

Great Barrier Reef corals that survived bleaching in 2016 were more resistant to a second marine heatwave the following year, "astonished" scientists have observed.

A study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, outlines how a process called "ecological memory" emerged in the northernmost reefs during back-to-back heatwaves in 2016 and 2017.