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Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to loss of symbiotic algae and photosynthetic pigments. This loss of pigment can be caused by various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients.
Huge stretches of coral reef around the world are turning a ghostly white this year amid record warm ocean temperatures. On Monday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ...
The 2022 bleaching was the first during a La Niña event, El Niño’s counterpart, which tends to have a cooling influence – raising serious concerns about the reef’s outlook. One Tree Island ...
The resilience of coral reefs is the biological ability of coral reefs to recover from natural and anthropogenic disturbances such as storms and bleaching episodes. [1] Resilience refers to the ability of biological or social systems to overcome pressures and stresses by maintaining key functions through resisting or adapting to change. [ 2 ]
When corals are in suboptimal conditions they are less able to protect themselves from algal coverage, diseases, and other stressors. This diversion of energy from growth puts the coral's life at risk. Coral bleaching is the result of the loss of vital zooxanthellae; any of the stressors can cause bleaching. [14]
The NOAA coral reef authority declared the global bleaching event in April 2024, making it the fourth of its kind since 1998. The previous record from the 2014 to 2017 mass bleaching affected just ...
Bleaching occurs when the zooxanthellae and coralline algae leave the coral skeleton behind due to stresses in the water. This causes the coral to lose its colour because the previous organisms sustained on the coral skeleton vacate, leaving a white skeleton. The bleached coral can no longer complete photosynthesis, and so it slowly dies.
The last global coral bleaching event happened in 2014 and lasted until 2017. More than 56% of global reef areas saw temperatures that could cause bleaching during that time period.