A deadly combination of changing ocean conditions are threatening the survival of coral reefs, new research from scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in the USA, shows.
Coral reefs need to grow just below the sea surface so that the corals' symbiotic photosynthetic algae can absorb sunlight. If they are submerged too deep, the ecosystem wastes away without solar energy to make food, therefore rising sea levels are a real threat.
Also, thanks to the lowering of the ocean's pH, corals are finding it harder to grow their skeletons and as a result are more vulnerable to bioeroding organisms tearing them down, new research from scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), shows.
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