Brain Coral Bleaching
![Image: Brain Coral Bleaching](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/full_width/public/Brain_coral_bleaching__Key_Largo_09_2014.jpg?itok=cUMp4cSe)
Detailed Description
No, that is not a mound of snow sitting on a coral reef – it is a colony of bleached "brain coral" on a reef off of Islamorada, Florida. Hard and soft corals are presently bleaching- losing their symbiotic algae – all over the coral reefs of the Florida Keys due to unusually warm ocean temperatures this summer. Months with waters warmer than 85 F have become more frequent in the last several decades compared to a century ago, stressing and in some cases killing corals when temperatures remain high for too long.
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.