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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Eva Corlett in Wellington

Bleached sea sponges found in New Zealand waters for first time

Bleached sea sponges discovered off the coast of New Zealand in April
Bleached sea sponges discovered off the coast of New Zealand in April. Photograph: Dr Valerio Micaroni and Francesca Strano, Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.

Sea sponges off New Zealand’s southern coastline have been found bleached bone-white for the first time, following extreme ocean temperatures.

A group of scientists from Victoria University of Wellington were alarmed to discover the sponges, which are typically a rich chocolate brown, were bleached in more than a dozen sites near Breaksea Sound and Doubtful Sound in Fiordland.

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