Day 5: Coral watch

Coral health

Both dives on Day 5 are dedicated to determining the health of the corals at our local dive sites. Learners take part in a globally recognised citizen science project, named ‘Coral Watch’, contributing real data from our dive to an international database.

Healthy corals have a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with a colourful algae called ‘zooxanthellae’. When the corals are under stress, they can respond in a number of ways; one of which is releasing the zooxanthellae from its outer tissues, making the corals appear white. We call this ‘bleaching’.

Coral Watch provides an easy-to-use colour chart which helps determine whether bleaching is taking place in our reefs.