Coral Bleaching

In the spectrum of climate change, coral bleaching occurs when water temperatures increase, causing the coral to expel the algae living in their tissues. This causes the coral to turn very pale or even completely white. "Bleached" coral, without the food source that algae provides, becomes more susceptible to disease and will eventually die off if the trend is not reversed. Pollution, overexposure to sunlight, and low tides can also cause coral bleaching, as well as an extreme drop in water temperature.