![]() ![]() "We're not yet at the point where we are seeing any mortality. "We are at least a month ahead of time, if not two months," Bruckner said. The peak for bleaching typically happens in late August or September. Then in the last few days, some reefs lost all their color. That doesn't mean they are dead, but the corals can starve and are more susceptible to disease.Īndrew Bruckner, research coordinator at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, said some coral reefs began showing the first signs of bleaching two weeks ago. When temperatures get too high, the coral expels the algae, making the reefs appear white or bleached. The reefs get their color from the algae that live inside them and are the corals' food. Previous Alert Level 2s were reached in August, she said.Ĭoral reefs are made up of tiny organisms that link together. Surface temperatures around the Keys have been averaging about 33 Celsius, well above the normal mid-July average of 29.5 Celsius, said Jacqueline De La Cour, operations manager for NOAA's Coral Reef Watch program. ![]() That level is reached when the average water surface temperature is about 1 degree Celsius) above the normal maximum for eight straight weeks. Scientists with NOAA this week raised their coral bleaching warning system to Alert Level 2 for the Keys, their highest heat stress level out of five. "The corals are pale, it looks like the color's draining out," said Lesneski, who has spent several days on the reefs over the last two weeks. The corals should be vibrant and colorful this time of year, but are swiftly going white, said Katey Lesneski, research and monitoring coordinator for Mission: Iconic Reefs, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched to protect Florida coral reefs. Some Florida Keys coral reefs are losing their color weeks earlier than normal this summer because of record-high water temperatures, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said. ![]()
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