hungry corals survive bleaching

Now that bleaching is as common on coral reefs as in Los Angeles hair salons, it's good to know some corals have coping skills.

Scientists bleached some Hawaiian corals and found them sneaking large meals of plankton soon after, staying healthy enough to survive and reproduce.

Coral bleaching happens when warm water causes corals to lose their normal food supply, the internal cultivated algae that give healthy corals their vibrant colors. Until now, bleached corals were thought to be helpless and doomed to starve without being fed by their helper algae.

I guess no more blond coral jokes.

Tweet