Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave

Yadav, Shreya; Roach, Ty N. F.; McWilliam, Mike; Caruso, Carlo; Souza, Mariana Rocha de; Foley, C. P.; Allen, Chuck; Dilworth, Jenna; Huckeba, Joel; Santoro, ERIKA P; Wold, Renee; Simpson, Jacqueline; Miller, Spencer; Hancock, Joshua R.; Drury, Crawford; Madin, Joshua S.

doi:10.1101/2022.11.01.514760

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Given their faster recovery and elevated bleaching thresholds (+0.7 -1.2°C) relative to M. capitata, P. compressa may become more dominant in this region as heatwaves become more frequent. Indeed, M. capitata exhibited greater partial mortality following the 2015 event (34) and greater declines in benthic cover than P. compressa following the 2019 event (58). This likely favors the dominance of P. compressa, which already reaches >75% cover on some reefs in Kāne'ohe Bay (59).…”

Section: Environmental Memory Of Heatwaves Has Led To Beneficial Accl...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Divergent recovery trajectories in reef-building corals following a decade of successive marine heatwaves

Brown,

Lenz,

Glass

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Increasingly frequent marine heatwaves are devastating coral reefs. Corals that survive these extreme heat stress events must rapidly recover if they are to withstand subsequent events, and long-term survival in the face of rising ocean temperatures may hinge on recovery capacity and acclimatory gains in heat tolerance over an individual's lifespan. To better understand coral recovery trajectories in the face of successive marine heatwaves, we monitored the responses of bleaching-susceptible and bleaching-resistant individuals of two dominant coral species in Hawaiʻi, Montipora capitata and Porites compressa, over a decade that included three marine heatwaves. Bleaching-susceptible colonies of P. compressa exhibited beneficial acclimatization to heat stress (i.e., less bleaching) following repeat heatwaves, becoming indistinguishable from bleaching-resistant conspecifics during and after the third heatwave. In contrast, bleaching-susceptible M. capitata repeatedly bleached during all successive heatwaves and exhibited seasonal bleaching for up to three years following the third heatwave. Encouragingly, bleaching-resistant individuals of both species remained pigmented across the entire time series; however, pigmentation did not necessarily indicate physiological resilience. Specifically, M. capitata displayed incremental yet only partial recovery of symbiont density and tissue biomass across both bleaching phenotypes up to 35 months following the third heatwave. Conversely, P. compressa appeared to recover across most physiological metrics within two years, reverting to predictable seasonal variability. Ultimately, these results indicate that even some visually robust, bleaching-resistant corals can carry the cost of recurring heatwaves over multiple years, leading to divergent recovery trajectories that may erode coral reef resilience in the Anthropocene.

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Section: Environmental Memory Of Heatwaves Has Led To Beneficial Accl...mentioning

confidence: 98%

Divergent recovery trajectories in reef-building corals following a decade of successive marine heatwaves

Brown,

Lenz,

Glass

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some coral genera like Pocillopora have generally been recorded to be more bleaching susceptible than others, but they are also reef building corals that help drive recovery. Deeper coral reefs have been able to withstand elevated temperatures better than shallower ones (Yadav et al, 2023).…”

Section: Heat Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Climate Change on Hawaii’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Over the Past 20 Years

Joshi,

Ribeiro Tosato,

Koch

2023

J Stud Res

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The Hawaiian islands are known for their rich marine biodiversity in coral reef ecosystems. However, in the last 20 years, changes in sea surface temperatures, sea levels, carbon dioxide levels, and ocean pH have severely impacted these reef ecosystems. Hawaiian corals can experience heat stress with temperatures as little as 1-2 °C above the average and thermal stress events were prevalent from 2014-2017, causing bleaching and increasing mortality. The increase in sea level in Hawaiian marine ecosystems has caused reefs to “drown” from the lack of sufficient sunlight and thus suffer from bleaching. Coral disease is linked with high temperatures, seen through the common reef-building coral disease white syndrome. Invasive species outbreaks, with Acanthaster planci as an example, are also correlated with changes in the climate and reef communities. With the loss of coral, there have been consequences on marine biodiversity in Hawaiian reef ecosystems. Specifically, the three most native coral genera, porites, montipora, and pocillopora, which are the most important species to the reefs, have been declining in population. As a result, higher threat statuses have been observed among turtles, reef fish, and marine mammals that are reliant on their coral reef ecosystems for protection and food sources.

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Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave

Cited by 2 publications

References 49 publications

Divergent recovery trajectories in reef-building corals following a decade of successive marine heatwaves

Divergent recovery trajectories in reef-building corals following a decade of successive marine heatwaves

The Effects of Climate Change on Hawaii’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Over the Past 20 Years

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