a professor at the rosenberg school. the heat wave through the caribbean, like belize, are bleaching, and bleaching severely and florida is where belize was about a month ago. reporter: this is a healthy brown piece of coral, if it was to bleach it would turn all white and potentially would die. that s what scientists are concerned about if the marine heat wave continues toed by. losing coral could be costly. coral reefs generate billions of dollars for florida s economies like fishing and tourism, which wouldn t be possible without reefs to protect the species that rely on them. we ve been working for years to make corals more friendly. reporter: engineering coral that could withstand even five degrees more will mitigate the strong heat waves expected in the future. corals one of the most sensitive ecosystems to the effects of
the verge of extinction. dr. andrew baker is a professor at marine biology and ecology. the marine heat wave is throughout the caribbean. certain parts of the caribbean like belize are already bleaching and bleaching pretty severely. and florida is where belize was about a month ago. reporter: this is a healthy brown piece of coral. if it was to bleach, it would turn all white and could potentially die. that s what scientists are concerned about if this marine heat wave continues to bill. losing coral could be costly. coral reefs generate billions of dollars for florida s economy through activities like fishing and tourism, which wouldn t be possible without reefs to protect the species that rely on them. we ve been working for several ways to make corals more tolerant. reporter: engineering coral that can withstand even a 5 degree temperature increase in our oceans will mitigate the effects of stronger marine heat waves that are expected in the