Rare coral finds home in UK waters as climate warms

A VULNERABLE species of coral will become more common in UK waters as global warming drives up temperatures, research suggests.

The pink sea fan is found in shallow waters from the western Mediterranean stretching up to the north-west of Ireland, south-west England and Wales.

Researchers at the University of Exeter modelled which coastlines may be more hospitable to the coral as waters warm, based on greenhouse gas emissions at the high end of predictions.

They found that by the last two decades of this century, the pink sea fan is likely to push northwards into new sites in the British Isles, making it a shortterm “winner” of the climate crisis.

The modelling covered the Bay of Biscay, northern Spain, the British Isles and southern Norway.

The soft coral is classified as “vulnerable” worldwide by the Internal Union for Conservation of Nature, and is at particular risk from scallop dredging.

Dr Jamie Stevens, of the University of Exeter, said: “This research highlights the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, in which [species] respond to warming by shifting polewards.”

The paper is published in the journal Peerj.