RECONNECTION proposes to explore coral communities under sub-optimal environmental conditions, which in some cases are comparable to or even exceed those predicted for the end of the century.

In three types of sub-optimal environments for corals, the objectives are to: (1) develop environmental and ecological monitoring of reef communities in selected natural laboratories, (2) characterize the abundance and diversity of these reef communities, (3) for a few model species, explore possible genetic differentiation in relation to these suboptimal environments and infer connectivity between contrasting environments, and (4) elucidate their acclimation and resilience potential. RECONNECTION will provide a better understanding of how corals can thrive in such hostile environments, improve projections of reef fate, and assess the role of these marginal/extreme areas in reef resilience.