Recently the Science worried about a recent announcement by a US agency has highlighted the alarming reality of the world’s second major coral bleaching event within a decade. From Australia to Florida, reef systems are facing catastrophic consequences due to months of unprecedented ocean heat.
Coral bleaching reverberates far beyond marine ecosystems, impacting ocean health, human livelihoods, food security, and local economies. While severe heat stress can lead to coral mortality, there’s a glimmer of hope for recovery if temperatures decrease and stressors like overfishing and pollution are mitigated.
Derek Manzello of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warns that as ocean temperatures rise, coral bleaching events are becoming more frequent and severe. NOAA’s monitoring, based on satellite data since 1985, identifies the current bleaching event as the fourth on record, following occurrences in 1998, 2010, and 2016.
Coral, composed of individual animals called polyps, maintain a symbiotic relationship with algae that reside in their tissue. When water temperatures rise, corals expel these algae, turning white—a process known as bleaching—leaving them susceptible to disease and mortality.
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