Climate Trackers: Bottlenose dolphin

Coral are part of the jellyfish and anemone family and have the unique feature of secreting a skeleton of calcium carbonate. They predominantly live in colonies and these form the gigantic constructions of which the best known are the coral reefs and atolls. It is estimated that there are one million animal and vegetable species that live in and around these coral reefs. This ecosystem is very rich in biodiversity and is threatened by overfishing, a deterioration in the quality of the water and -- most recently -- climate change. Climate change endangers coral through an increase in the water temperature and a significant acidification of the surface waters.