Mother Jones: Coral reefs cover just 0.1 percent of the ocean floor, but provide habitat to 25 percent of sea-dwelling fish species. That`s why coral scientist C. Mark Eakin, who coordinates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration`s Coral Reef Watch program, is surprised that the warning he has been sounding since last year - that the globe`s corals appear to be on the verge of a mass-scale bleaching event - hasn`t drawn more media attention.
Bleaching happens when corals lose contact with zooxanthellae,...