Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is an extremely important environmental issue. Coral are invertebrates that are large colonies, with these colonies being made up of individual polyps. Coral derives most of its energy from photosynthetic algae that live on the polyps of coral. When conditions become unsuitable for these algae to live on coral reefs they vacate their homes, evacuating into the surrounding waters, often dying without protection. Conditions can become unsuitable for these algae due to the increasing acidification of ocean waters and increasing temperatures of ocean water, both of which can be attributed to anthropogenic emissions. With the lack of algae coral reefs can become bleached and eventually die. With the death of coral reefs, they can no longer function as ecosystems for other organisms and nor can they act as vital environmental barriers to oceanic activities.