Current thinking on how the Toxoplasma gondii parasite invades its host is incorrect, according to a study published today in Nature Methods describing a new technique to knock out genes. The findings could have implications ...
Definition. Coral bleaching is a process whereby the coral colonies lose their colour, either due to the loss of pigments by microscopic algae (zooxanthellae) living in symbiosis with their host organisms (polyps), or because these zooxanthellae have been expelled.
Coral reefs are particularly fragile ecosystems, partly due to their sensitivity to water temperature. When corals are physiologically stressed-as is the case when water temperatures are elevated-they may lose much of the their symbiotic algae, an event known as bleaching..oral Reefs: the Tropical Rainforests of the Sea Coral reefs are often called the tropical rainforests of the sea for their astounding richness of life.