7 ms·

You've witnessed actually dead coral or just "bleached" coral? Bleached coral isn't dead. It has just expelled its symbiotic algae. When the water cools it g

You've witnessed actually dead coral or just "bleached" coral? Bleached coral isn't dead. It has just expelled its symbiotic algae. When the water cools it gets its algae back. All corals are broadcast spawners. The polyp will start growing where ever conditions are right. It may not be the same place it was growing before but the coral doesn't go extinct.

itishappy 2y ago
> Bleached coral isn't dead. It has just expelled its symbiotic algae. When the water cools it gets its algae back. Zooxanthellae provide 90% of a coral's energy. Bleached coral has a few weeks where recovery is indeed possible, but if stresses last longer than that the coral dies. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/coral-recovery-after-bleaching-event-central-pacific https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/coral-recovery-...