The coral reef is experiencing succession, thus as the zooxanthellae algae departs the coral polyps over time, the coral will continue to gradually die off.
As the zooxanthellae algae departs the coral polyps, the coral will continue to die off rapidly since the coral reef is going through succession. When a result of climate change affecting the coral reef, the coral is bleaching as the zooxanthellae algae departs the coral polyps. The coral reef is undergoing climatic change, thus the coral will die off due to seasonal variations. Zooxanthellae algae in the coral polyps are unaffected by this.
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