Coral Bleaching

WHAT ARE CORALS?

Corals are invertebrates belonging to a large group of animals called Cnidaria. They are colourful and fascinating creatures. These coral reefs are an important part of our biodiversity.

WHAT IS CORAL BLEACHING?

Corals are facing a great threat. This threat is called coral bleaching. This phenomenon takes place when the water in which the coral reefs become too hot. When water becomes too hot the coral will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) which symbiotically live in the coral tissues causing the coral to turn completely white. Corals can survive the bleaching event but they are under more stress and without the algae the coral loses its major food source. This causes its white colour. It is also more susceptible to diseases. 

WHAT ARE ITS CAUSES?

 A major cause of coral bleaching is climate change which increases the temperature of oceans. It is also caused by exposure to sunlight when the temperature is high, exposure to air during extremely low tides, etc. Coral bleaching is very harmful because once corals die, reefs rarely come back. With only a few corals surviving, the corals find it difficult to reproduce and entire reef ecosystems deteriorate. 

RESTORATION OF CORALS

These coral reefs can be restored by -:

 -> diving responsibly at coral reefs

-> eating sustainable food 

-> conserving water

These coral reefs are a wonderful creation and we need to preserve them.

~ by Kriday Gupta (SMSMB)