What is a Coral?
Coral is not a rock or a plant. It is a tiny animal. Think of it like a soft jellybean that builds a hard house. Corals live with tiny green plants called zooxanthellae. These plants live inside the coral. The plants eat sunlight and make food. They share this food with the coral. This is why corals look so colorful.
Why Do They Turn White?
When the ocean gets too hot, the coral gets stressed. Imagine you are in a room with no air conditioning on a very hot day. You would feel bad. The coral feels bad too. When it is stressed, it kicks the green plants out. Without these plants, the coral loses its color. It turns white or clear. This is called bleaching.
Can They Recover?
If the water cools down quickly, the plants can come back. The coral gets its color back. If the water stays hot, the coral might starve. The plants leave, and the coral runs out of food. Then the coral dies. Bleaching is a sign that the coral is hungry and sad because its home is too warm.
Examples
- Imagine a green leaf inside a house; when it gets too hot, the leaf leaves, and the house turns white.
- It is like a friend leaving when you are fighting; the coral is alone and hungry.
- The reef looks like snow on the ocean floor because all the color is gone.
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