Coral bleaching is a stress-induced biological process in which reef-building scleractinian corals lose all or most of their endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (family Symbiodiniaceae) and/or their photosynthetic pigments, leading to visible paling or whitening of coral tissues. Triggered primarily by elevated sea surface temperatures, but also by light stress, pollution, or oxidative stress, bleaching involves disruption of the coral–algal symbiosis through mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species overproduction, damage to photosystem II, and activation of host cellular stress pathways that drive symbiont expulsion or degradation. Prolonged or repeated bleaching events impair coral metabolism, calcification, and reproduction, often increasing mortality and restructuring reef ecosystems.
New study reveals that corals in the Gulf of Aqaba have withstood four consecutive and intensifying marine heat waves, including the world's most extreme 2024 event, without suffering mass bleaching—a resilience unmatched ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 17, 2025
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66
In the next 75 years, surface sea temperatures may rise by up to 4°C, with increasingly frequent short-term marine heat waves also predicted. This could cause significant damage to our essential marine ecosystems, for example, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 4, 2025
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23
Coral reefs are in crisis. Rising ocean temperatures driven by climate change are pushing these ecosystems to the brink, with mass bleaching events becoming more frequent and severe.
Plants & Animals
Sep 1, 2025
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26
QUT researchers have advanced the understanding of how to create tiny seawater droplets to form mist plumes that reflect sunlight to protect coral reefs.
Ecology
Aug 27, 2025
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Just as the 2019–20 summer is remembered for devastating bushfires, the summer of 2024–25 is likely to be remembered for Australia-wide marine biological disruption associated with marine heat waves.
Ecology
Aug 12, 2025
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17
The Great Barrier Reef has experienced the largest annual decline in coral cover in two of the three regions since AIMS began monitoring 39 years ago. This was predominantly driven by climate change-induced heat stress leading ...
Ecology
Aug 5, 2025
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34
The world's oceans are being rapidly transformed as climate change intensifies. Corals are bleaching, sea levels are rising, and seawater is becoming more acidic—making life difficult for shellfish and reef-building corals. ...
Environment
Aug 1, 2025
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24
Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that sustain millions of people, yet they face a growing crisis. Rising ocean temperatures are causing coral bleaching, a process where heat disrupts the relationship between corals and the ...
Environment
Jul 29, 2025
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23
This year, Australia has experienced record-breaking floods, tropical cyclones, heat waves on land and in the ocean, drought, coral bleaching, coastal erosion and devastating algal blooms. Over the past five years, insured ...
Environment
Jul 29, 2025
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27
When you think about climate change in our oceans, you may picture coral bleaching, melting sea ice, or extreme weather events. But beneath the ocean's surface, another quiet shift is underway. Australia's tropical fish are ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 25, 2025
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