On Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:31:40 -0700 (PDT), Catoni
wrote:

Of course corals are very adaptible and can handle change. Even
realtivbely fast change. There are fossil coral reefs 350 million
years old. That means they handled many global warmings and global
coolings. Coral is still with us .

However, coral bleaching does not mean the coral is dead. It means
it is under stress, yes. But it does not mean the coral is dead. There
are many things that can cause coral bleaching from stress. And it
looks like low levels of stress are actually good for the coral and
help it build resistance to stress agents.

"The corals that form the structure of the great reef ecosystems of
tropical seas depend on a symbiotic relationship with
photosynthesizing unicellular algae called zooxanthellae that live
within their tissues. Zooxanthellae give coral its particular
coloration, depending on the clade living within the coral. Under
stress, corals may expel their zooxantheallae, which leads to a
lighter or completely white appearance, hence the term "bleached"
- Hoegh-Guldberg 1999

"Once bleaching begins, corals tend to continue to bleach even if the
stressor is removed. If the coral colony survives, it often requires
weeks to months for the remaining symbiont population to reach a
normal density"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_bleaching


And the exposed coral reefs show that sea level was
higher at one time along with other evidence;

http://www.teachingboxes.org/seaLeve.../sinkholes.htm