Hawkfish resting over white bleached Porites coral reefs

Echoes of Color Loss: Underwater Coral Bleaching.

This underwater footage captures a close-up view of a bleached Porites coral formation, with its characteristic smooth, rounded surface now entirely white, signaling bleaching. The coral towers upward, creating a dense and clustered landscape. Resting motionless on one of the coral's upper ridges is a hawkfish, distinguishable by its speckled body and elongated shape. Its muted brown and light orange coloration blends with the bleached coral, making it less conspicuous within this pale environment. The fish remains still observing its surroundings and waiting for prey, In the background of the video clip, other smaller, brightly colored fish can be seen swimming in the blue waters, adding subtle motion and life to the shot.

Hawkfish in Dying Coral Reefs | Impactful Marine Video | Free Stock Footage.

Filmed in crisp 4K (2160p) and HD (1080p) resolutions, this professionally shot video highlights the interactions between marine life and coral reefs. As free stock footage, it is available in landscape mode (16:9 aspect ratio) for widescreen projects and vertical mode (9:16 aspect ratio), making it suitable for smartphone-friendly social media platforms such as Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook. This clip is ideal for NGOs, environmental campaigns, documentaries, and educational materials focused on ocean health and conservation.

Hawkfishes, known for their bright colors and distinctive dorsal spines, are often seen perched on corals, where they use their vantage point to scan for prey. They are uniquely adapted for resting on coral due to their strong pectoral fins, allowing them to "sit" and observe their surroundings. Coral reefs like those made up of Porites species provide hawkfishes with both a resting place and a hunting ground, supporting their role within the reef ecosystem. Porites coral, with its solid, blocky structure, offers the stability hawkfishes prefer, but bleaching events dramatically alter these habitats.