Is the Great Barrier Reef Actually Dead?

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]But, it's also one of the most vulnerable. Coral reefs are built by tiny [music] animals called polyps, which form limestone skeletons over generations.

[00:00:08]>> [music] >> Inside their tissue live microscopic algae, symbiotic partners that feed the coral through photosynthesis and give reefs their vibrant color. When ocean temperatures rise, even slightly, this relationship breaks down. The coral expels the algae, loses its color, and begins to starve. [music] This process is known as coral bleaching. Bleaching isn't death, at least not immediately. If water temperature returns to normal quickly, corals can recover, [music] but prolonged stress combined with other factors like pollution, ocean acidification, and disease often leads to mass mortality. And in recent years, that's exactly what's happened.