In Mission Bay, a few miles from where the Pacific Ocean meets San Diego's shoreline, Todd Michael noticed something remarkable growing in waters that should have been too hostile for it: a naturally occurring hybrid eelgrass that had somehow outperformed both of its parent species. The discovery, made by Michael and his colleagues at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, offers a glimpse into what may become one of conservation's most powerful new tools.

Evolution works over millennia. Climate change is moving far faster. That mismatch is pushing ecosystems beyond their limits—from California’s towering redwood forests to the seagrass meadows along its coast—systems that store vast amounts of carbon and support complex webs of life. An estimated 1 million species face extinction, many within decades, largely due to human activities like habitat destruction, pollution and overuse of natural resources, according to a 2019 report by a United Nations-affiliated intergovernmental scientific body.

Now, scientists are racing to close the gap with an emerging discipline called conservation genomics: sequencing an organism's complete genetic blueprint to pinpoint individuals with traits suited to survive drought, disease and other climate extremes, then using that information to guide restoration. At the Salk Institute, a machine called the Pacific Biosciences Revio can decode an entire human genome in one day, enabling researchers to analyze plant and coral genetics faster than ever before.

The hybrid eelgrass that caught Michael's eye—a cross between shallow water Zostera marina and deeper water Zostera pacifica—persisted where both parent species struggled. By sequencing its genome, the team identified genes tied to the plant's circadian clock that stayed active longer under low light conditions, a pattern scientists believe may help it photosynthesize more efficiently in murky water. The implications are significant: traditional eelgrass replanting efforts fail about half the time, as warming waters, severe king tides and coastal runoff reduce the light reaching the seafloor. Michael's findings suggest restoration could be improved by selecting or breeding eelgrass better suited to future conditions. The researchers have partnered with ecologists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to explore how those insights could be applied in future restoration projects.

Similar techniques are being applied to Northern California's redwoods, among the tallest and oldest trees on Earth. Their forests store more carbon per acre than any other ecosystem on the planet, according to a 2020 study by Save the Redwoods League and Humboldt State University. But while these trees evolved with frequent low-intensity fire, today's hotter, more destructive wildfires—combined with drought—are taking a growing toll. Logging has had an even greater impact: roughly 95 percent of old-growth redwoods have been lost. By identifying which redwoods carry genes for drought tolerance and fire resistance, researchers hope to give these ancient forests a fighting chance.

Coral reefs are also seeing early applications. Repeated marine heat waves have caused mass bleaching worldwide, but by sequencing corals and the algae living inside them, researchers have identified colonies that naturally withstand higher temperatures and are beginning to test whether selectively breeding those more resilient corals can support recovery.

For Michael, the work represents a shift in thinking—from simply preserving what exists to actively helping species keep pace with a changing world. "A plant that was growing great in San Diego Bay, now San Diego Bay might be too hot for it," he said. Conservation genomics, he believes, offers a way to stay ahead of that curve, using the language of DNA to write a more hopeful future for the planet's most vulnerable ecosystems.