Coral Reefs

Conclusion and Assessment to Experiment

The experiment as described provides strong support for the idea that temperature directly affects coralline health and that even relatively small rises in temperature can have devastating effects on corals (and coral reefs) because such a shift in temperature has the effect of destroying the relationship between the corals and small symbionts that live in the corals. Rising temperatures drive the symbionts out of the corals, and it is this fleeing of the small co-habitants of the coral reefs that producing the lightening of "bleaching" effect that is a definitive indicator of coral harm or death.

The experimental data provided indicate that at 26 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius, there was no colour change in the coral (Catalaphyllia jardinei). This met the expectations of the experiment, given that this temperature is within the temperature tolerance for this coral and its symbionts. Since the...
[ View Full Essay]