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April 21, 2023

Coral reef near South Pacific island of Moorea in French Polynesia

This coral reef near the South Pacific island of Moorea in French Polynesia is part of a larger reef system in the NSF Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research site. Here, scientists monitor the corals’ response to environmental stressors like marine heat waves and virus outbreaks, which can cause bleaching and disease.

[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grants OCE 2224354, OCE 1933165, OCE 1635913, OCE 1635798 and OCE 2145472.]

Learn more in the Rice University news story Ocean warming intensifies viral outbreaks within corals. (Date of image: Feb. 22, 2022; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: April 21, 2023)

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Correa Lab/Rice University


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