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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.
Covering nearly 133,000 square miles (345,000 square kilometers), the Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef, home to more than 1,500 species of fish and 411 species of hard corals.
Here's how warming affects coral reefs and what the future might hold for these fragile underwater ecosystems. ... with corals providing shelter to algae, while the algae remove coral waste ...
Since zooxanthellae and algae grow very slowly, restoring the coral reef to its original form will take a very long time. [20] This breakdown of the relationship between the coral and the zooxanthellae occurs when Photosystem II is damaged, either due to a reaction with the D1 protein or a lack of carbon dioxide fixation; these result in a lack ...
The mass bleaching of coral reefs around the world since February 2023 is now the most extensive on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Reuters this week.
Rising ocean temperatures can cause coral bleaching, a stress response where corals expel the symbiotic algae that provide them with energy and vibrant color. This process leaves corals vulnerable to disease and death, further worsening the reef's fragility [9] [10] [11]. Ocean acidification, another consequence of climate change, decreases the ...
When corals are under stress by favors such as these, they bleach — corals expel algae that live in their tissues, causing them to turn white. According to the Office for Coastal Management, ...
Alternatively, the new individual may acquire the zooxanthellae direct from sea water in which the dinoflagellates freely live at some stages of their life cycle. Some stony corals use chemotaxis, with infection occurring as a result of the emission by the coral of a chemical attractant. Infection may also occur after ingestion of infected ...