North Atlantic coral populations supporting a wide variety of sea like are under threat from climate change.
Scientists have warned that changing winter weather conditions may upset fragile marine ecosystems.
Corals permit diverse forms of marine life to thrive by building reef structures that provide protection from predators and safe spaces to reproduce.
A cold water coral called Lophelia pertusa was studied. It grows in deep waters, creating elaborate reefs that are biodiversity hotspots. These populations are maintained by tiny, fragile coral larvae that drift and swim on ocean currents, travelling hundreds of miles between reefs where they attach and begin to grow.
Researchers used computer models to simulate the migration of larvae across vast stretches of ocean.
They wanted to know effect that weather changes could have on the long-term survival of Lophelia pertusa populations in the North Atlantic.
They found the
shift in average winter conditions in Western Europe - one of the predicted impacts of climate change - could
threaten coral populations.
The team found Scotland's network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appears to be weakly connected, making it vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
A coral population on Rosemary Bank seamount, an undersea mountain off Scotland's west coast, is key to maintaining the network.
