"Optimism is rising among scientists that parts of the Great Barrier Reef that were severely bleached over the past two years are making a recovery.
Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science this month surveyed 14 coral reefs between Cairns and Townsville to see how they fared after being bleached.
The institute's Neil Cantin said they were surprised to find the coral had already started to reproduce.
"We're finding corals that are showing early signs of reproductive development, really visible eggs that we can see under the naked eye," Dr Cantin said.
"[It's] very surprising as previous studies have shown a two-to-three year delay in reproductive activity following bleaching events.
"It means they have enough energy, they've recovered the zooxanthellae and the symbiosis and they even have energy to invest in reproduction and egg development."
Nearly two thirds of the Great Barrier Reef was affected by bleaching in 2016 and 2017, killing up to 50 per cent of coral in those parts."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-29/coral-regeneration-raises-hopes-for-great-...Of course they didn't perform an autopsy on any part of the reef. it just looked white and dead.
But that's what happens when the symbionts get ejected.