# Parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover since records began nearly 40-years ago. According to a new report by the country’s Institute of Marine Science, the northern and southern branches of the sprawling reef both suffered their most widespread coral bleaching. Bleaching happens when coral gets stressed and turns white because the water it lives in is too hot. Coral is vital to the planet. Nicknamed the sea’s architect, it builds vast structures that house an estimated 25-percent of all marine species.
Great Barrier Reef suffers worst coral decline on record