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Warming Waters

July 6, 2015

Warming seawater threaten coral reefs by disrupting the relationship between corals and symbiotic algae they host. The corals provide a protected place for the algae to live and chemical compounds that algae need for photosynthesis. In exchange, the algae produce oxygen and organic materials the corals need to grow. When seawater warms, the colorful algae move out, revealing the corals’ white skeletons—a phenomenon known as bleaching. To study the impacts of a warming ocean on corals, researchers from Anne Cohen’s lab have deployed an extensive network of underwater sensors on and around reefs in Palau.(Photo by Hannah Barkley, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)