By Faraz Eshan
Look at the gorgeous, lush, vibrant coral reefs that decorate vast swathes of the world’s oceans, a place a quarter of all biodiversity on the planet call home. These pivotal animals are now under threat as rising temperatures in the world’s oceans are causing the widespread ‘bleaching’ of these stunning creatures.
Corals are normally covered in microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae, that give them their colorful appearance. These zooxanthellae and corals both depend upon each other to survive, however when their marine environment experiences changes, such as increased temperatures from global warming, the coral ejects the zooxanthellae. This expulsion leaves the corals bare of their energetic colors, exposing their dull white skeletons and giving them the appearance of being bleached. Should the environmental changes fail to revert, the algae won’t return to the coral and as both are dependent on each other for survival, both will die.
These vital coral reefs are under massive threat due to the increasing sea level temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions and are dying at rapid rates. Researchers estimate that 70-90% of all the world’s coral reefs will disappear in the next 20 years, a statistic beyond comprehension.
Over half a billion people are dependent on coral reefs for a living, in addition to the protection they offer coastlines from storms and erosion, and as such a world without these delicate but incredibly important creatures would have serious repercussions for the rest of the world.