 A nine-month study conducted in 2005 compared the mortality of "C. natans" from bleaching to that of "Porites porites", which has a finger-like morphology.Although the severity of bleaching between the two species was similar, 56% of the "P. porites" colonies studied died from the bleaching, compared to only 8% mortality for bleach-affected "C. natans".However, bleaching induced widespread incidence of the coral syndrome White Plague Type II, resulting in bleaching-related mortality of 42% among "C. natans" over 9 months, nearly as high as that for "P. porites".