# Coral Bleaching & Acidification

Explain the mutualistic symbiosis between coral polyps and photosynthetic zooxanthellae; describe how heat stress causes bleaching (corals expel zooxanthellae and turn white); explain ocean acidification chemistry: CO2 dissolves in seawater to form carbonic acid, lowering pH and dissolving calcium carbonate skeletons; connect reef loss to the collapse of habitat for ~25% of marine species; evaluate current reef restoration efforts

Builds on: Ocean Currents and Global Heat (hard, https://ai.page/c/ocean-currents-and-global-heat/en.md), Predator Loss and Ecosystem Effects (hard, https://ai.page/c/predator-loss-and-ecosystem-effects/en.md), Ocean Ecosystems (hard, https://ai.page/c/ocean-ecosystems/en.md)

Concept id: coral-bleaching-and-acidification. Subject: science. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0.

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