Rise in ocean temperature due to global warming triggered coral bleaching, the frequency of which is increasing, which caused the mass death of corals worldwide.
The findings of a team of Australian scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University showed that a complex cascade of molecular signals can lead to the self-inflicted death of corals and their symbiotic algae as the sea water begins to warm.
Several major bleaching events happened in the last 30 years, the most recent is the 2010 across the Indian Ocean and Coral Triangle.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which had eight coral bleachingevents since 1980, suffered its worst in 2002 when 55% of the total reef area was affected.
