AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -However, corals can tolerate only a relatively narrow temperature range and prefer water between 73-84 degrees, and water temperatures over 86 degrees or under 64 degrees can become stressful and eventually fatal for coral.

Detailed explanation-2: -Many grow optimally in water temperatures between 73° and 84° Fahrenheit (23°–29°Celsius), but some can tolerate temperatures as high as 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius) for short periods.

Detailed explanation-3: -They need warm water and lots of sunlight to feed the symbiotic algae that live with them.

Detailed explanation-4: -Clean Water Most reef-building corals depend upon zooxanthellae (tiny little algae that grow inside of them) to photosynthesize and provide food. If the water becomes cloudy or murky, or if corals are covered in sediment, the sunlight can’t get to the zooxanthellae and the corals lose that important food source.