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The threat facing the world's coral reefs

CORAL reefs around the world are experiencing global bleaching due to warming oceans and climate change, and it could lead to their extinction, experts say.

Corals are marine invertebrates that secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton, which is a crucial part of coral reef formation.

Bleaching occurs when corals lose their vibrant colours and turn ghostly white.

As sea temperatures rise, corals feel more and more pressure and expel the algae in their tissues that give them their colour.

Ecologist David Obura of the Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (Cordio) compares bleaching to when humans have a fever.

Bleaching makes coral more vulnerable to disease and reduces their ability to grow and reproduce, he says.

If it occurs for long enough, it can cause coral

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