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.
According to the authors of a study published in the journal Coral Reefs, fire corals may be undergoing a "silent extinction." Coral bleaching occurs when seawater temperatures rise, causing the zooxanthellae (microalgae ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 25, 2026
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The study, published in Coral Reefs, tests how winters influence coral sensitivity to bleaching—either priming them to cope with heat stress or leaving them more vulnerable in the subsequent summer.
Ecology
Mar 12, 2026
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In April 2019, a marine heat wave struck a coral reef on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia, killing much of the coral and the beneficial algae that colonized it. This "bleaching" event reduced live coral populations ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 11, 2026
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A recent report on global tipping points warned that coral reefs face widespread dieback and have reached a point from which they cannot recover.
Ecology
Mar 8, 2026
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Rising sea temperatures are causing coral reefs around the world to bleach. For the first time, a research team at the Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has ...
Ecology
Feb 25, 2026
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Corals living in coastal bays with strongly fluctuating temperatures and environmental conditions are better able to withstand heat and other stressors than their counterparts on more stable reefs. This is shown by research ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2026
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As ocean temperatures rise due to climate change, corals and other sensitive organisms survive where temperatures are less extreme. But a new study from researchers at Florida Tech, published this month in the journal Communications ...
Environment
Feb 12, 2026
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Benefits to society from coral reefs, including fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, pharmaceutical discovery and more, are estimated at about $9.8 trillion per year. For the first time, an international team led by Smithsonian ...
Earth Sciences
Feb 10, 2026
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Oceanic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by global warming, which causes coral bleaching, species migration and, through the loss of habitats and biodiversity, food web disruptions on major scales. Also, pollutants ...
Ecology
Feb 5, 2026
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Scientists have created an AI model that forecasts moderate heat stress—a major precursor to coral bleaching—at sites along Florida's Coral Reef up to six weeks ahead, with predictions generally accurate within one week. ...
Ecology
Feb 2, 2026
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