A depth refugium from catastrophic coral bleaching prevents regional extinction

Smith, Tyler B.; Glynn, Peter W.; Maté, Juan L.; Toth, Lauren T.; Gyory, Joanna

doi:10.1890/13-0468.1

Cited by 100 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Clearly this is not the case for deeper reefs in the present study as coral cover declined markedly and was replaced by unstable substrata. Deep water refugia, therefore, may be confined to locations with sufficient light penetration at depth51 or for species that can grow at relatively low levels of irradiance (e.g., Millepora intricata 71). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

27 years of benthic and coral community dynamics on turbid, highly urbanised reefs off Singapore

Guest

Tun

Low

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coral cover on reefs is declining globally due to coastal development, overfishing and climate change. Reefs isolated from direct human influence can recover from natural acute disturbances, but little is known about long term recovery of reefs experiencing chronic human disturbances. Here we investigate responses to acute bleaching disturbances on turbid reefs off Singapore, at two depths over a period of 27 years. Coral cover declined and there were marked changes in coral and benthic community structure during the first decade of monitoring at both depths. At shallower reef crest sites (3–4 m), benthic community structure recovered towards pre-disturbance states within a decade. In contrast, there was a net decline in coral cover and continuing shifts in community structure at deeper reef slope sites (6–7 m). There was no evidence of phase shifts to macroalgal dominance but coral habitats at deeper sites were replaced by unstable substrata such as fine sediments and rubble. The persistence of coral dominance at chronically disturbed shallow sites is likely due to an abundance of coral taxa which are tolerant to environmental stress. In addition, high turbidity may interact antagonistically with other disturbances to reduce the impact of thermal stress and limit macroalgal growth rates.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

27 years of benthic and coral community dynamics on turbid, highly urbanised reefs off Singapore

Guest

Tun

Low

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Coral reefs throughout the TEP have been devastated in recent decades by temperature‐induced coral beaching during El Niño events, and these temperature extremes may become both more frequent and more extreme in the future [ Cai et al ., ; Kim et al ., ] as could La Niña events [see Cai et al ., ]. If upwelling intensity in the Gulf of Panamá remains moderate in the coming decades, then the negative impacts of upwelling may be outweighed by the potential of cool upwelled waters to buffer against the warmer sea temperatures [ Chollett et al ., ; Smith et al ., ]. Whereas extreme upwelling left reefs in Pacific Panamá more vulnerable to climatic extremes in the past, moderate upwelling systems like the modern‐day Gulf of Panamá may provide critical refuges that protect reefs against warming sea temperatures in the future [ Riegl and Piller , ; Karnauskas and Cohen , ; Smith et al ., ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene variability in the intensity of wind-gap upwelling in the tropical eastern Pacific

et al. 2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wind-driven upwelling in Pacific Panamá is a significant source of oceanographic variability in the tropical eastern Pacific. This upwelling system provides a critical teleconnection between the Atlantic and tropical Pacific that may impact climate variability on a global scale. Despite its importance to oceanographic circulation, ecology, and climate, little is known about the long-term stability of the Panamanian upwelling system or its interaction with climatic forcing on millennial time scales. Using a combination of radiocarbon and U-series dating of fossil corals collected in cores from five sites across Pacific Panamá, we reconstructed the local radiocarbon reservoir correction, ΔR, from~6750 cal B.P. to present. Because the ΔR of shallow-water environments is elevated by upwelling, our data set represents a millennial-scale record of spatial and temporal variability of the Panamanian upwelling system. The general oceanographic gradient from relatively strong upwelling in the Gulf of Panamá to weak-to-absent upwelling in the Gulf of Chiriquí was present throughout our record; however, the intensity of upwelling in the Gulf of Panamá varied significantly through time. Our reconstructions suggest that upwelling in the Gulf of Panamá is weak at present; however, the middle Holocene was characterized by periods of enhanced upwelling, with the most intense upwelling occurring just after of a regional shutdown in the development of reefs at~4100 cal B.P. Comparisons with regional climate proxies suggest that, whereas the Intertropical Convergence Zone is the primary control on modern upwelling in Pacific Panamá, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation drove the millennial-scale variability of upwelling during the Holocene.

show abstract

“…Presently, too little is known about how MCEs and other deeper coral reef environments experience and cope with thermal stress to predict whether or not they will be refugia. Limited empirical evidence to support the deep reef refugia hypothesis came from observations of greater survival of corals in deeper habitats during shallow water bleaching events (Glynn, ; Riegl & Piller, ; Smith et al ., ). These studies lacked temperature data at the depths of the purported refugium, which are necessary to estimate the thermal susceptibility of corals and their potential to survive in a warming ocean.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystems are unlikely climate change refugia

Smith

Gyory

Brandt

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

137

126

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Deeper coral reefs experience reduced temperatures and light and are often shielded from localized anthropogenic stressors such as pollution and fishing. The deep reef refugia hypothesis posits that light-dependent stony coral species at deeper depths are buffered from thermal stress and will avoid bleaching-related mass mortalities caused by increasing sea surface temperatures under climate change. This hypothesis has not been tested because data collection on deeper coral reefs is difficult. Here we show that deeper (mesophotic) reefs, 30-75 m depth, in the Caribbean are not refugia because they have lower bleaching threshold temperatures than shallow reefs. Over two thermal stress events, mesophotic reef bleaching was driven by a bleaching threshold that declines 0.26 °C every +10 m depth. Thus, the main premise of the deep reef refugia hypothesis that cooler environments are protective is incorrect; any increase in temperatures above the local mean warmest conditions can lead to thermal stress and bleaching. Thus, relatively cooler temperatures can no longer be considered a de facto refugium for corals and it is likely that many deeper coral reefs are as vulnerable to climate change as shallow water reefs.

show abstract

A depth refugium from catastrophic coral bleaching prevents regional extinction

Cited by 100 publications

References 35 publications

27 years of benthic and coral community dynamics on turbid, highly urbanised reefs off Singapore

27 years of benthic and coral community dynamics on turbid, highly urbanised reefs off Singapore

Holocene variability in the intensity of wind-gap upwelling in the tropical eastern Pacific

Caribbean mesophotic coral ecosystems are unlikely climate change refugia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About