Temperature
Lethal Limits
- 5 - 36oC
- physiological effects = bleaching (expulsion of zooxanthellae from coral tissues)
Ecological Limits
- 18 - 29oC (low limit correlates with 20o N & S latitude limit of reef corals)
- some exceptions exist
- reasons for differences between lethal and actual limits
- secondary effects of temperature on feeding or on reproduction
- synergistic effects of other environmental factors (e.g., UV irradiance)