Climate change has brought about such problems as bleaching-induced (47)______ of corals.
Bleaching occurs when corals are stressed by high temperature or other (48)______ changes, and lose their symbiotic algal cells. When they lose these cells, which provide the corals with essential (49)______ and give them their color, they can die. Reefs are important for livelihoods, and fisheries and tourism, and are the main (50)______ along the eastern African coast as well as (51)______ many of the islands of the Western Indian Ocean.
In college during the 70s, I joined an expedition to the Malindi Marine Park -- one of the first MPAs (marine protected areas) to be established in Africa-where we (52)______ in a well-protected reef. But over the years, that reef has been completely devastated by the bleaching. It was truly (53)______ to see such a vibrant and healthy reef reduced almost to the status of an unprotected one.
Recently, coral reefs have received a great deal of attention, especially following the 1997/ 1998 bleaching event that (54)______ 70 percent of the reefs of the region. Through a regional task force, a coral reef strategy with an emphasis on MPAs is (55)______ under development. Countries in the region are also involved in a (56)______ reef research project to better understand the impacts of coral bleaching.
A) depressed I) dove
B) nutrients J) depressing
C) devastated K) mortality
D) morality L) available
E) environmental M) currently
F) globally-targeted N) gloomily
G) desperately O) fringing
H) ecosystem