While the Marshalls had mostly avoided the coral bleaching episodes that have happened farther west in the Pacific and in the Caribbean over the past few years, there was such an episode in the fall of 2009 during an El Niño when the water temperature rose to about one degree F higher than it usually does. Several species of corals bleached out (by expelling their symbiotic plants, the zooxantehllae), as did several species of anemones, including most specimens of Heteractis magnifica and some of Heteractis crispa, Entacmaea quadricolor, and Stichodactyla haddoni. While a fair proportion of a few coral species did not survive the bleaching, most of the anemones did. While the bleaching is almost certainly not healthy for the anemones, it did make for some striking images. Another pages shows more bleached Heteractis magnifica. Information on more recent coral bleaching episodes is on the bleached Heteractis magnifica page.
Created 1 September 2010
Updated 28 July 2018