Shared heat tolerance leaves ecosystems at risk of sudden climate-driven collapse – new research

Last year, much of the world’s largest coral reef system was transformed into a white boneyard, featuring ghostly silhouettes of horns, brains and lettuces. The threat of sudden biodiversity loss from climate change had been realised through what’s known as a mass bleaching event.

The abrupt loss of many species from a system is generally attributed to a breakdown in ecological functioning.