When ocean temperatures rise, corals are put at risk of a phenomenon known as bleaching, in which corals expel the algae living in their tissues and turn white. Bleached corals are at increased risk of disease and death. But, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on August 8 now show that more severe marine heatwaves—as occurred on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 2016—are even worse for corals. They don’t just lead to bleaching but to the immediate death and decay of coral reefs.
Click here for original story, Rapid coral death and decay, not just bleaching, as marine heatwaves intensify
Source: Phys.org