Coral bleaching is not a new phenomenon. Bleaching is when the coral turns white because the colorful algae that give the coral its color and food is destroyed. Warmer waters are said to have been causing this tragedy. Allot of the time coral reefs recover from bleaching but while they are in that state they are vulnerable to damage from storms, infections, and environmental stress, increasing the risk of deaths. A similar event took place in 1998 it was estimated to have destroyed 16% of the worlds reefs and an unknown amount of sea life.
These coral reefs provide refuge to almost a quarter of the marine animals, truly making reefs the most biologically diverse habitats on our planet. Bleaching robs fish and other species of shelter and food sources. Scientists don’t totally understand why this happens but they do know what happens. Bleaching occurs with prolonged periods of high temperatures along with excessive sunlight. This causes symbiotic algae in the coral to become hyperactive poisoning the coral that host the algae, and this leads to the coral expelling algae into the water to defend itself.
It can take 10 to 70 years for the reefs to recover from bleaching. But this time the extent of damage is so vast it may take generations to recover if ever. All the things that are happening to destroy this world of ours should scare the heck out of anyone with a half a brain. Is the end near? Is this going to cause more endangered species or the extinction of hundreds of species?
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By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
Coral reefs suffer mass bleaching
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