The Largest Coral Atoll in the World Lost 80 Percent of Its Coral to Bleaching

As global ocean temperatures begin to recover from the record-breaking El Niño, the tremendous impact on the world’s coral reefs is still being calculated.

Coral reefs are more important than many people realize: Taking up just 0.2 percent of the ocean, they support about a quarter of all marine species, and provide support to livelihoods of 500 million people.  But beyond that, a healthy reef is stunningly beautiful.  They’re part of what makes life on Earth so special.

During an El Niño event, corals can “bleach” — abnormally hot water makes their symbiotic bacteria emit toxins, and the coral polyps, which are tiny animals, expel them reflexively. Since healthy bacteria provide food to the corals, without them, the corals can starve to death.

When that happens, reefs that have grown up over centuries can die in a matter of weeks.

“This is a huge, looming planetary crisis, and we are sticking our heads in the sand about it,” Justin Marshall, a coral researcher at the University of Queensland, recently told the New York Times. Since coral reefs are often out of sight, their destruction can also — unfortunately — be out of mind.

Read more at The Largest Coral Atoll in the World Lost 80 Percent of Its Coral to Bleaching