Colorful coral with bleached tips

The center of this branching coral appears colorful and healthy, yet the outer tips are bleached white. Coral polyps on the outer branches have expelled their symbiotic algae, losing a source of food as well as their color.

Image credit: Unmodified photo by Behan, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/, via Flickr.

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Last modified
8 December 2016 - 10:31am