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Bleached coral specimens located off Hawaiii.

Bleached coral specimens located off Hawaiii.
Bleached coral specimens located off Hawaiii.
Bleached coral specimens located off Hawaiii.
Bleached coral specimens located off Hawaiii.
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290646
Apprill, Amy
Bleached coral specimens located off Hawaiii.
Still Image
10/23/2014
PA230824_KB12.JPG
Image Of the Day repeat caption:
This coral's stark white color indicates that it is stressed. Corals host symbiotic algae that produce food for corals and also give corals their vibrant color. When ocean waters warm, the algae depart, leaving behind an underlying white skeleton. Corals can then starve and even die. The process is called coral bleaching, and it is beleived to occur when stressed corals produce too much of a chemical called superoxide. But WHOI scientists Amy Apprill and Colleen Hansel have shown that superoxide has Jekyll-and-Hyde qualities. Superoxide produced on the corals' surface appears to provide benefits, perhaps helping some species to resist bleaching and prevent predation.
Image Of the Day caption:
Superoxide, a natural toxin produced by all oxygen-breathing organisms, has long been vilified when it comes to coral health. When stressed corals produce too much of this toxin in their cells, it can lead to bleaching and even death. But a new study by WHOI researchers found that superoxide can also play a positive roleit all depends on the location where it is produced. When we measured superoxide concentrations at the surface of corals during a natural bleaching event, we saw a completely different dynamic, says Colleen Hansel, a biogeochemist at WHOI. It appears this toxin may have provided a benefit to the corals, perhaps helping some species to resist bleaching.
Photo by Amy Apprill
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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