PTE AcademicReading
Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks
Below is a text with blanks. Click on each blank and a list of choices will appear. Select the appropriate answer choice for each blank.
0 / 5 espaces remplis
Coral Reefs Under Pressure
marine biologyCoral reefs cover only a small of the ocean floor, yet they are home to a remarkably large share of marine species. The corals themselves depend on tiny algae that live inside their tissues and supply them with food by photosynthesis. When the water becomes too warm for too long, this partnership breaks down: the corals expel the algae and turn white, a process known as bleaching. Bleached corals are not dead, but they are , and if high temperatures continue, many of them starve. Reefs can recover when conditions return to normal, recovery takes years, and repeated heatwaves leave less and less time for it. For this reason, scientists argue that local protection, valuable, cannot save reefs on its own unless ocean warming is also slowed.