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Coral bleaching occurs as a result of abnormal ocean conditions, such as when water temperatures are unusually warm or cold, or when oceans are more acidic than normal. Corals respond by expelling ...
The last such global event occurred from 2014 to 2017 — a period that, like this year, also featured the return of El Niño conditions, a natural climate cycle that can compound background ...
Risisng sea surface temperature threatens delicate coral reefs
Bleached Acropora coral with normal coral in the background. Elevated sea water temperatures are the main cause of mass bleaching events. [56] Sixty major episodes of coral bleaching have occurred between 1979 and 1990, [57] [58] with the associated coral mortality affecting reefs in every part of the world.
For example, rising water temperatures are harming tropical coral reefs. The direct effect is coral bleaching on these reefs, because they are sensitive to even minor temperature changes. So a small increase in water temperature could have a significant impact in these environments. Another example is loss of sea ice habitats due to warming.
Perhaps the biggest threat to coral reefs comes from rising global temperatures. Most corals can only tolerate a 4–5 °C range in water temperatures. Under these adverse conditions, corals may expel their zooxanthellae and become bleached. As ocean waters warm beyond the tolerated temperature range, corals are dying. [10]
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Warming seawater may also welcome the emerging problem of coral disease. Weakened by warm water, coral is much more prone to diseases including black band disease, white band disease and skeletal eroding band. If global temperatures increase by 2 °C during the twenty-first century, coral may not be able to adapt quickly enough to survive. [61]