Recently, the Marshall Islands has encountered one of its lowest levels of coral bleaching. While recording data for the amount of bleached corals that were supposed to be counted, our marine biology class were shocked to find zero bleached corals within the 1000 ft square we measured for our project.
The Marshall Islands still struggles to maintain and keep our corals alive and healthy. Coral bleaching is caused by the actions of climate change and El Nino and these problems can create a negative impact in our environment. When our planet gets warmer, it causes a major change in the ocean temperature, as low as 2 degrees Fahrenheit, this then drives out the algae causing the coral to bleach. Although climate change is the major reason, coral bleaching can be caused by other activities such as pollution, too much sunlight, and low tides. There are many ways to contribute in saving our corals. We can start off by limiting the use of fertilizers, recycling and reducing trash properly, saving energy, and lastly, spreading the word.