Theory 08/Specialisation vs Robustness/Coral symbiosis
Specialists Bleach First
The claim
Corals with specialised symbionts trade thermal tolerance for growth, so the most productive partnerships are the most fragile under heat stress.
01Mechanism
A specialist symbiont is optimised for current conditions; a generalist set buffers stress at the cost of peak performance.
02Prediction
Specialist-dominated corals should grow faster and bleach sooner.
03Refutation
Growth and tolerance varying together would remove the trade-off.