Reply #3: The only thing that keeps this from being truly a disaster is that..

[X_Digger]

.. bleaching doesn't have to be permanent.

Zooxanthellae are the symbiotic organisms that live inside coral and give them much of their color. Zooxanthellae are protected by the coral polyps and in return produce food for the coral. The good news is that bleached corals can re-absorb zooxanthellae, if the stressor is of a short enough duration. While bleached, coral don't have the zooxanthellae as a food source and must catch what food they can through the water.

Each of these little flower-like structures is an individual animal, a single coral polyp:


At the center of each polyp is a mouth. Polyps can actually catch and eat small creatures, fish and other coral larvae, and small invertebrates.