Fact Friday

If you are familiar with corals, you may be shocked by these bright colors.  These corals are stressed by warm water and increased UV exposure.  They have expelled their symbiotic algae, responsible for their normal green and brown colors, and soon these coral will be white, indicating they are close to death.  The bright colors come from fluorescent pigments, used as sunscreen now that the algae are no longer shading the coral.  See photos and videos of a bleaching event here.

Credit: Derek Manzello

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The Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum has been created by the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation to help promote ocean literacy and incorporate coral reef ecology into classrooms. All material is protected by copyright laws and other laws of the United States and other countries throughout the world. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is the owner of this material for purposes of copyright and other laws. Unauthorized duplication, distribution, or exhibition of this material or any part thereof (including the soundtrack) may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution. These materials are not for sale or business purposes. Users may download files but are prohibited from posting the files to third-party servers or websites. The materials on this website may be shared and/or adapted for noncommercial, educational purposes. Any derivations must be distributed under these same restrictions. When using any of the materials from this guide, please include the following attribution:

Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum https://livingoceansfoundation.org.

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Unless otherwise stated, photos used in the Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum are property of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.

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For more information, please contact:
Amy Heemsoth, Director of Education
Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
130 Severn Ave, Suite 100
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[email protected]
443-221-6844

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