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Like never seen before, coral reefs across the world are glowing in wondrous colors: greens, pinks, and purples.
Coral polyps are miniature sea creatures who build reefs using calcium carbonate, or calcium for short. They are in a harmonious and beneficial relationship with tiny algae called zooxanthellae. These algae play a pivotal role in providing nutrients to corals through photosynthesis, while also giving corals their standard brownish color.
Due to climate change and its dire impacts on the world’s oceans, rising temperatures cause stress in corals. This stress can disrupt the relationship between coral and algae, leading to dying coral or bleaching. The algae are expelled, and the coral turns ghostly white.
Also read: The Secret Meaning Behind Fluorescent Coral Colors
Furthermore, prior to or during the bleaching stage, some corals produce stress-induced pigments as a last resort to defend themselves. These glowing pigments act like a final line of defense, functioning like sunscreen. They protect the coral tissues from harmful ultraviolet rays and block out excessive sunlight.
As coral biologists have noted, this glow serves an even deeper purpose: a distress call. According to a 2023 study published in Nature Climate Change, fluorescent signaling is becoming more widespread as marine heatwaves intensify.
“Think of it as an SOS flare,” Dr. Lara Chen, a coral reef researcher from the University of Queensland, said. “The fluorescence might look beautiful, but it’s a symptom of extreme stress, not health.”
This phenomenon is chiefly driven by factors such as climate change. Global temperature rise is causing increasingly frequent and intense marine heatwaves, pushing coral beyond their thermal limits. Combined with other stressors like pollution, overfishing, and ocean acidification, many reefs are on the verge of collapse.
The Great Barrier Reef, for example, has experienced mass bleaching events in 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022, and is projected to experience one in 2026. Many corals are glowing extensively before succumbing to bleaching.
Even if some corals can recover if temperatures drop quickly, persistent stress and cumulative damage make recovery difficult. Marine scientists are exploring solutions like coral gardening, cultivating heat-tolerant strains, and reducing local stressors such as pollution. However, experts stress that cutting greenhouse gas emissions is the most fundamental action needed to protect coral reefs in the long term.
The reefs’ collective glow acts as a vivid alert, urging humanity to recognize and take action. These radiant ecosystems are signaling, in the most stunning yet desperate manner, that we are running out of time.
