–While the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dominated the news during summer 2010, it was a somewhat unusual summer for the rest of the world as well. Extreme heat and fires in Russia caused millions of dollars worth of damage. Flooding in Pakistan has resulted in millions losing their homes. And droughts in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia have led to crop failures. One climate-related event that we haven’t heard much about, however, is the widespread bleaching of coral reefs all across the globe, largely due to this year’s severe heat stress. Continue reading Coral bleaching in 2010: An early indicator of vulnerable marine ecosystems under human-made stress