CNN News: 珊瑚白化

Which of these invertebrates is an anthozoan known for its stony skeleton? Coral, sea anemone, mollusk, or starfish?

下列哪种无脊椎动物，属于珊瑚虫并因为其石灰骨骼出名?珊瑚、海葵、软体动物或海星?

Answer here is coral. The skeletons or the animal that secretes them, forming ocean reefs.

答案是珊瑚。珊瑚是珊瑚虫分泌出的外壳。

AZUZ: And while coral and coral reefs are known for their incredibly vibrant colors, they can bleach white if they get stressed. Scientists observed this last year in the worst ever bleaching of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Coral's colors determined by the algae that live on it, and the algae are coral's food source.

珊瑚和珊瑚礁正以令人难以置信绚丽的色彩而出名,但是由于气温上升它们可以被漂白为白色。科学家在去年观察到了澳大利亚大堡礁正在经历历史上最严重的白化事件。珊瑚的颜色是由其居于其上的藻类决定的，同时藻类是珊瑚的食物。

But if the coral gets stressed, it can lose these algae and then turned white. This can happen if water temperatures get too warmed or too cold, or if there's pollution or an extremely low tide. It's a sign of bad health, but the coral can recover.

但是如果气温上升，珊瑚的周围的压力加大，它就会失去这些藻类，然后白化。如果海水温度过高或者过低，污染或者极低的退潮都会导致上述事件。这是珊瑚不健康的标志，但是它们也可以恢复。

There's more affected than the reef itself though. Consider the ripple effects of a recent coral bleaching event near Madagascar.

这对此影响的不仅仅是珊瑚本身。例如马达加斯加由于珊瑚白化所产生的连锁反应。