---
- attributes: ~
  caption: 'A colony of star coral (Montastraea faveolata) off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico (estimated to be about 500 years old) exemplifies the effect of rising water temperatures. Increasing disease due to warming waters killed the central portion of the colony (yellow portion in A), followed by such high temperatures that bleaching - or loss of symbiotic algae from coral - occurred from the surrounding tissue (white area in B). The coral then experienced more disease in the bleached area on the periphery (C) that ultimately killed the colony (D). (Photo credit: Ernesto Weil).'
  chapter:
    display_name: 'Chapter 24: Oceans and Marine Resources'
  chapter_identifier: oceans-marine-resources
  create_dt: 2013-01-03T16:08:00
  description: 'A colony of star coral (Montastraea faveolata) off the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico (estimated to be about 500 years old) exemplifies the effect of rising water temperatures. Increasing disease due to warming waters killed the central portion of the colony (yellow portion in A), followed by such high temperatures that bleaching - or loss of symbiotic algae from coral - occurred from the surrounding tissue (white area in B). The coral then experienced more disease in the bleached area on the periphery (C) that ultimately killed the colony (D). (Photo credit: Ernesto Weil).'
  display_name: '24.4: Warming Seas Are a Double-blow to Corals'
  identifier: warming-seas-are-a-doubleblow-to-corals
  lat_max: ~
  lat_min: ~
  lon_max: ~
  lon_min: ~
  ordinal: 4
  report:
    display_name: 'Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment'
  report_identifier: nca3
  source_citation: ~
  submission_dt: ~
  time_end: ~
  time_start: ~
  title: Warming Seas Are a Double-blow to Corals
  type: figure
  uri: /report/nca3/chapter/oceans-marine-resources/figure/warming-seas-are-a-doubleblow-to-corals
  url: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/widespread-impacts/graphics/coral-bleaching
  usage_limits: Copyright protected. Obtain permission from the original figure source.