The reefs scattered throughout the tropics arose only after algae took up full-time residence in coral cells, supplying corals with abundant food and enabling them to build extensive shallow-water communities. But with warming oceans, algae are often abandoning coral—causing what's known as bleaching—and turning reefs that were once teeming with life into ghost towns.

The reefs scattered throughout the tropics arose only after algae took up full-time residence in coral cells, supplying corals with abundant food and enabling them to build extensive shallow-water communities. But with warming oceans, algae are often abandoning coral—causing what’s known as bleaching—and turning reefs that were once teeming with life into ghost towns.

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