Current thinking on how the Toxoplasma gondii parasite invades its host is incorrect, according to a study published today in Nature Methods describing a new technique to knock out genes. The findings could have implications ...
Definition. Coral bleaching is a process whereby the coral colonies lose their colour, either due to the loss of pigments by microscopic algae (zooxanthellae) living in symbiosis with their host organisms (polyps), or because these zooxanthellae have been expelled.
Coral bleaching and ocean acidification are two climate-related impacts to coral reefs. One of the most important threats facing coral reefs on a global scale is a big one: climate change. Scientists agree that climate change is real, and this spells real trouble for the worldâs coral reefs. The global average combined land and ocean surface temperature for the month of June 2010 was the warmest on record. Global ocean temperature has risen by 1.3Â°F since the late 19th century and is continuing to climb. Rising (or even falling) water temperatures can stress coral polyps, causing them to lose algae (or zooxanthellae) that live in the polpysâ tissues.