Caribbean clams were able to survive in the acidified ocean.

Corals, like other living organisms, suffer from increased ocean acidity caused by rising sea levels.

carbon in the Earth's atmosphere.Huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are absorbed by the oceans every day. When this happens, chemical reactions lower the pH of seawater, making it more acidic. This in turn reduces the amount of calcium carbonate present in the water, which the corals need to form their shells and grow.

An international team of scientists had intended to studythe impact that the long-term effects of high acidity of the ocean can have on three species of coral in the Caribbean. Researchers transplanted samples of corals in areas along the coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, where water from underwater sources lowered the pH of the surrounding sea water. According to the researchers, the environment in this area is even more acidic than predicted in 2100 in the oceans of the Earth.

Representatives of the species took part in the experimentSiderastrea siderea, Porites asteoides and Porites porites. The first coped best with the changed conditions, while the survival of the second and third species decreased by 20% and 77%, respectively.

When all the surviving corals were able to grow, the researchers found that their skeleton density decreased by 15–30% compared with their relatives who live in other parts of the sea.

Earlier, biologists from the Ecole Polytechnique of Lausanne discovered a species of coral that not only does not suffer from global climate change, but is also capable of producing offspring.