Climate change is causing the destruction of coral reefs. One of the effects that corals have in response to stress produced by the increase in sea level temperature is bleaching.
Whitening it ends up killing the corals and thus destroys the ecological balance of the ecosystem since all the species that depend on the coral are without shelter. Bleaching has also been found to reduce the fertility of corals. In Australia's Great Barrier Reef Large areas have been recorded where they have suffered bleaching.
Corals have a very characteristic way of reproduction. It is called underwater snowstorm. This is because each year, corals synchronize to expel trillions of eggs and sperm. This phenomenon causes the polyps of the corals to drift during spawning and when they descend they can cling to the reef helping it to grow and rebuild little by little.
This year, this well-known phenomenon has not occurred in all its intensity due to the effects of climate change. With the bleaching, much of the reef is seriously affected and many others have had problems spawning this year. Bleaching has affected the fertility of corals that have survived. Without this contribution of new individuals to the reef, it is increasingly vulnerable and easy to destroy.
The Great Barrier, which with its 2.300 kilometers long It is the largest coral system in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it faces the worst crisis caused by the bleaching of corals as a result of the warming of the waters of the region.
In order to alleviate this effect and the destruction of corals, carbon emissions must be reduced. With the Paris Agreement It is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hopefully, in this way, the bleaching of corals can be stopped.