coral is exposed to some kind of stress like an increase in ocean temperature, solar radiation, exposure to air, and pollution (3). These factors cause the algae contained within the coral to leave, and when this is happening the coral is bleaching (3). It is important to remember that when a coral is being bleached, the entire coral is not being bleached, the polyps of the coral around the edges are still healthy (see picture below) (1). This algae contained within the corals also provide the coral with nutrition, and once this “nutrition” (algae) begins to leave the coral, it will more than likely die (4). The frequency and scale of bleaching disturbances has dramatically increased since the late 70’s (1). This could be due to the fact that more people are reporting this bleaching, and there are also more observers with a greater interest regarding the bleaching of corals. For example; between 1979 and 1990, there were 60 coral reef bleaching events reported out of 105 coral communities. Whereas in the previous 103 years before 1979 there were only 3 bleaching events reported out of 63 coral communities (1).

Coral bleaching is a problem occurring more than we think, and it is something that can greatly affect t

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