Hawaii coral reefs stabilizing following bleaching event

[Judi Lynn]

today

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii (AP) — Coral reefs off the Big Island are stabilizing nearly four years after Hawaii’s worst bleaching event, an environmental organization said.

Warm ocean water temperatures caused the first statewide bleaching event in 2015, damaging delicate coral reefs, West Hawaii Today reported Wednesday.

Surveys by The Nature Conservancy found that an average of 60 percent of coral off the island’s western side bleached, with some reefs experiencing up to 90 percent mortality.

Bleaching occurs when coral is stressed by changes in its environment, causing it to release algae living in its tissue. The coral then turns pale or white and becomes more susceptible to disease.

More:
https://apnews.com/3781e1cd10f546a0ad679cf6ed81668c

[msongs]

1. 3 septembers ago waikiki water was so warm it was uncomfortable to swim more

than just splashing around kind of swim. oddly enuff that was not the year for the hurricane threats