Photo: Tara Ocean Foundation
Introduction
A two-year mission across the Coral Triangle will investigate how viruses and reef ecosystems could help some corals resist rising ocean temperatures.
While coral reefs around the world face unprecedented bleaching and decline, an international team of scientists, including researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), is preparing to investigate why certain coral ecosystems have remained relatively stable despite rising ocean temperatures.
The Tara Coral Expedition: An Unprecedented Scientific Journey
The Tara Ocean Foundation has launched Tara Coral, a two-year expedition (2026–2028) to study climate-resilient reefs in the Coral Triangle of the western Pacific. Covering over 30,000 nautical miles, the research schooner Tara will travel through six countries, make 26 port stops, and complete intensive sampling at 10 reef sites where coral cover has remained relatively stable despite ocean warming.
Tara Pacific divers, Sylvian Agostini and Pete West, collect reef samples in the Coral Triangle. (Photo: Tara Ocean Foundation)
The crucial role of viruses in coral health
James Wainaina, viral ecologist from WHOI's Biology Department, will participate in efforts to characterize the viral communities living within these reef ecosystems. His work will examine viruses associated with the corals themselves, the surrounding seawater, and reef sediments, a frequently overlooked but critical component of reef health.
"Corals are not just animals — they are complex ecosystems," Wainaina stated. "They live in close association with algae, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other eukaryotes. We want to understand what viruses are present, how these viral communities change within corals, seawater, and sediments, and whether virus-mediated functional processes contribute to coral resilience to thermal stress."
James Wainaina, a biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, studies the ecology and evolution of marine viruses. (Photo: Rachel Mann, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Corals as Holobionts: An Innovative Approach
Corals are "holobionts," meaning that the host animal and its associated microorganisms operate as an integrated biological unit. While previous global expeditions documented reef biodiversity, Tara Coral seeks to go beyond simple diversity cataloging to identify the biological processes that allow some reefs to tolerate thermal stress. The team, composed of sixty-seven scientists from more than 40 institutions, will integrate environmental DNA sampling, photogrammetry, microbiome analysis, paleoclimatic core extraction, and thermal stress experiments on board.
"The Tara Coral expedition is unique due to its combination of scientific scope, methodological standardization, geographic focus, and integration between disciplines and partners," noted Christian Voolstra, researcher at the University of Konstanz and one of the scientific directors of the project. "Now is the time to act to understand, preserve and strengthen the resilience of coral reefs".
The expedition stops will include water sampling, microplastic collection, sediment collection, and targeted sampling of coral colonies. (Courtesy: Tara Ocean Foundation)
Tara Ocean Foundation's Journey
Tara Coral builds on the previous Tara Pacific expedition (2016–2018) and continues the foundation's more than 20 years of ocean exploration. Since acquiring the schooner in 2003, the Tara Ocean Foundation has traveled nearly 590,000 kilometers, led 13 expeditions, collected 140,000 samples, and contributed to thousands of scientific publications aimed at informing global ocean policy.
Source:
Press release link: WHOI x Tara Ocean Foundation Launch Two-Year Coral Expedition
Author: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Photo ©: Tara Ocean Foundation, Rachel Mann/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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