Nemo Bleached

Nemo Bleached

This clownfish was happily living amongst it’s host anemone’s tentacles even though the anemone had ‘beached’ – lost it’s symbiotic algae that gives it’s characteristic colours. Fortunately for anemones they are able to capture food from the water with their stinging tentacles. As beautiful as this contrast is it underlies the sad story that is currently affecting the family of Cnidarians that includes anemones and their close relative hard corals.

Coral reefs are often regarded as the canaries in the coalmine in relation to climate change. The relationship (symbiosis) between the coral (animals) and zooxanthellae (tiny algae) is both their greatest triumph and weakness.

The symbiosis provides corals with most of their food requirements and in turn gives the zoox a well protected place to live. This symbiosis has been so successful over millions of years that it has enable corals to build the only living structure visible from space (the Great Barrier Reef).

Sadly this relationship only works in a fairly narrow range of water temperature. When the water gets too hot the symbiosis breaks down, the zooxanthellae are lost from the coral tissues (coral bleaching) and if temperatures remain elevated the corals will die.

To date it is estimated that 16% of the world’s reefs have been lost to coral bleaching…...

Nemo Bleached belongs to the following groups:

Conservation Photography and Underwater & Sealife (Limit 2 Per Day) Available for sale as

Greeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints