Undeniably beautiful, coral has various functions, such as providing a habitat for fish. Yet, despite its many uses, coral does not make a good gift.

Popular for souvenirs, home decor and jewelry, many consumers don’t realize that coral is under stress from bleaching and dying off at alarming rates worldwide.

Coral bleaching happens when such as light, temperature or nutrients. This causes them to push out the symbiotic algae living in their tissues, turning them completely white. With the temperatures of the ocean warming, corals face one of the worst bleaching events in history.

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Despite being some of the most biologically rich and economically valuable ecosystems on the planet, from a wide variety of impacts ranging from global climate change to pollution, according to NOAA. Added to that list is consumer demand, which increases during the holiday season.

The photo above shows a close up of jewerly made out of coral.

(Thinkstock)

Tons of dead coral are imported to the U.S. each year to make home decorations and other knickknacks. The U.S. is also the world’s largest documented consumer of Corallium, the red and pink corals that are often used to make jewelry.

Harvesting coral to satisfy commercial use has by reducing colony size, density and age over time. It also lowers the species’ reproduction capability and decreases its genetic diversity.

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Without the protection of the reefs, , as well as the ecosystems that support fisheries and tourism. The corals are also home to about a quarter of all the marine species.

Coral grows slowly, lives for an extremely long time and takes years to mature. It takes them . Harvesting coral, especially when it is young, makes it difficult for the surrounding coral beds to recover. Many of them don’t make it.

It’s best to leave coral in its habitat, where it can thrive and support life. Corals make a better gift under the sea than under your tree.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Coral Bleaching

This photo shows a before and after of the bleaching in the waters surrounding American Samoa. The first photo was taken in December 2014 and the second was taken in February 2015.