Bluebook SAT VIP Practice Exam

The following passage is adapted from a 2023 marine biology research article. Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor yet support approximately 25 percent of all marine species. When ocean temperatures rise even one to two degrees Celsius above the long-term average, corals expel the symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues — a process called bleaching. Without zooxanthellae, corals lose up to 90 percent of their energy source and appear stark white. While bleached corals are not immediately dead, prolonged bleaching lasting more than eight weeks typically results in coral mortality. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documented that mass bleaching events now occur roughly once every six years, compared to once every 25–30 years in the 1980s. Based on the passage, which of the following most accurately describes the relationship between coral bleaching and coral death?

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