reefs.

And they have set up special sampling sites to compare the effects this year with 1991.

Dr. Tony Knap, director of the Bermuda Biological Station, said significant bleaching had occurred over the last two years.

"We really want to quantify the effect of it, and to make comparisons,'' he said.

The monitoring would involve taking regular photographs of the reefs.

Dr. Knap explained the bleaching had been brought about by warm sea temperatures.

"Up to now the bleaching has been transitory. The reefs repair themselves,'' he added.

Last week an American marine scientist released a report predicting widespread bleaching this summer.

Dr. Pamela Hallock-Muller, from the University of South Florida, said conditions were ripe for further damage.

"Corals and other reef organisms bleach when stressed, particularly by the combination of warm, still water and too much ultraviolet radiation,'' she said.

She is currently presenting results of her research at an international coral reef symposium in Guam.

Dr. Clay Cook and Dr. Fred Lipschultz, coral reef experts from Bermuda, are also attending.