the.com/bleaching
Coral's panic response: evicting its own roommates and starving in spectacular white.
means When stressed by heat, coral expels the symbiotic algae that feed and color it, turning ghostly white and risking death.
from From Old French blanchir, to whiten, via Germanic roots for pale and shining; the marine sense surfaced as warming oceans turned reefs corpse-white.
Not dead yetBleached coral can recover if stress eases fast.
Algae evictionZooxanthellae provide up to 90% of coral's food.
Heat triggerOne degree above normal can spark mass bleaching.