a professor at the rosenberg school. the heat wave through the caribbean, like belize, are bleaching, and bleaching severely and florida is where belize was about a month ago. reporter: this is a healthy brown piece of coral, if it was to bleach it would turn all white and potentially would die. that s what scientists are concerned about if the marine heat wave continues toed by. losing coral could be costly. coral reefs generate billions of dollars for florida s economies like fishing and tourism, which wouldn t be possible without reefs to protect the species that rely on them. we ve been working for years to make corals more friendly. reporter: engineering coral that could withstand even five degrees more will mitigate the strong heat waves expected in the future. corals one of the most sensitive ecosystems to the effects of