Wednesday, 24 Feb 2021 07:52 AM MYT
One species of coral that is particularly threatened by climate change is Acropora tenuis, known to have three color morphs: brown, purple and yellow-green. — Picture courtesy of goran_safarek / Shutterstock
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NEW YORK, Feb 24 —According to scientists in Japan, a coral’s colour can tell of its resilience to climate change. The yellow-green colour morph of a given species of coral was found to resist higher temperatures more effectively than the brown colour morph.
If you’ve dived in the Pacific Ocean or the Red Sea in recent years, you may have been struck by the amount of white coral reefs. These underwater structures are under threat from climate change and marine pollution. This can cause coral to turn a ghostly white colour — a phenomenon called bleaching — and ultimately die.