Journal ArticleDOI
Coral bleaching: the winners and the losers
TLDR
A community-structural shift occurred on Okinawan reefs, resulting in an increase in the relative abundance of massive and encrusting coral species, and two hypotheses whose synergistic effect may partially explain observed mortality patterns are suggested.Abstract:
Sea surface temperatures were warmer throughout 1998 at Sesoko Island, Japan, than in the 10 preceding years. Temperatures peaked at 2.8 °C above average, resulting in extensive coral bleaching and subsequent coral mortality. Using random quadrat surveys, we quantitatively documented the coral community structure one year before and one year after the bleaching event. The 1998 bleaching event reduced coral species richness by 61% and reduced coral cover by 85%. Colony morphology affected bleaching vulnerability and subsequent coral mortality. Finely branched corals were most susceptible, while massive and encrusting colonies survived. Most heavily impacted were the branched Acropora and pocilloporid corals, some of which showed local extinction. We suggest two hypotheses whose synergistic effect may partially explain observed mortality patterns (i.e. preferential survival of thick-tissued species, and shape-dependent differences in colony mass-transfer efficiency). A community-structural shift occurred on Okinawan reefs, resulting in an increase in the relative abundance of massive and encrusting coral species.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Ecological responses to recent climate change.
Gian-Reto Walther,Eric Post,Peter Convey,Annette Menzel,Camille Parmesan,Trevor J. C. Beebee,Jean-Marc Fromentin,Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,Franz Bairlein +8 more
TL;DR: A review of the ecological impacts of recent climate change exposes a coherent pattern of ecological change across systems, from polar terrestrial to tropical marine environments.
Journal ArticleDOI
Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,Peter J. Mumby,Anthony J. Hooten,Robert S. Steneck,Paul F. Greenfield,Edgardo D. Gomez,C. D. Harvell,Peter F. Sale,Alasdair J. Edwards,Ken Caldeira,Nancy Knowlton,C. M. Eakin,Roberto Iglesias-Prieto,Nyawira A. Muthiga,Roger Bradbury,Alfonse M. Dubi,Marea E. Hatziolos +16 more
TL;DR: As the International Year of the Reef 2008 begins, scaled-up management intervention and decisive action on global emissions are required if the loss of coral-dominated ecosystems is to be avoided.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs
Terry P. Hughes,Andrew H. Baird,David R. Bellwood,M. Card,Sean R. Connolly,Carl Folke,Richard K. Grosberg,Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,Jeremy B. C. Jackson,Jeremy B. C. Jackson,Joan A. Kleypas,Janice M. Lough,Paul Marshall,Magnus Nyström,Stephen R. Palumbi,John M. Pandolfi,Brian R. Rosen,Jonathan Roughgarden +17 more
TL;DR: International integration of management strategies that support reef resilience need to be vigorously implemented, and complemented by strong policy decisions to reduce the rate of global warming.
Journal ArticleDOI
Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals
Terry P. Hughes,James T. Kerry,Mariana Álvarez-Noriega,Jorge G. Álvarez-Romero,Kristen G. Anderson,Andrew H. Baird,Russell C. Babcock,Maria Beger,David R. Bellwood,Ray Berkelmans,Tom C. L. Bridge,Tom C. L. Bridge,Ian R. Butler,Maria Byrne,Neal E. Cantin,Steeve Comeau,Sean R. Connolly,Graeme S. Cumming,Steven J. Dalton,Guillermo Diaz-Pulido,C. Mark Eakin,Will F. Figueira,James P. Gilmour,Hugo B. Harrison,Scott F. Heron,Scott F. Heron,Andrew S. Hoey,Jean-Paul A. Hobbs,Mia O. Hoogenboom,Emma V. Kennedy,Chao-Yang Kuo,Janice M. Lough,Janice M. Lough,Ryan J. Lowe,Gang Liu,Malcolm T. McCulloch,Hamish A. Malcolm,Mike McWilliam,John M. Pandolfi,Rachel Pears,Morgan S. Pratchett,Verena Schoepf,Tristan Simpson,William J. Skirving,Brigitte Sommer,Gergely Torda,Gergely Torda,David Wachenfeld,Bette L. Willis,Shaun K. Wilson +49 more
TL;DR: The distinctive geographic footprints of recurrent bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998, 2002 and 2016 were determined by the spatial pattern of sea temperatures in each year, suggesting that local protection of reefs affords little or no resistance to extreme heat.
Journal ArticleDOI
Phase shifts, herbivory, and the resilience of coral reefs to climate change.
Terry P. Hughes,Maria J. Rodrigues,David R. Bellwood,Daniela M. Ceccarelli,Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,Laurence J. McCook,Laurence J. McCook,Natalie A. Moltschaniwskyj,Morgan S. Pratchett,Robert S. Steneck,Robert S. Steneck,Bette L. Willis +11 more
TL;DR: Experimentally manipulated the density of large herbivorous fishes to test their influence on the resilience of coral assemblages in the aftermath of regional-scale bleaching in 1998, the largest coral mortality event recorded to date.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Climate change, coral bleaching and the future of the world's coral reefs
TL;DR: The results suggest that the thermal tolerances of reef-building corals are likely to be exceeded every year within the next few decades, and suggests that unrestrained warming cannot occur without the loss and degradation of coral reefs on a global scale.
Journal ArticleDOI
Catastrophes, phase shifts, and large-scale degradation of a Caribbean coral reef.
TL;DR: A dramatic phase shift has occurred in Jamaica, producing a system dominated by fleshy macroalgae (more than 90 percent cover), and immediate implementation of management procedures is necessary to avoid further catastrophic damage.
Journal ArticleDOI
Coral bleaching: causes and consequences
TL;DR: Evaluated data on temperature and irradiance-induced bleaching, including long-term data sets which suggest that repeated bleaching events may be the consequence of a steadily rising background sea temperature that will in the future expose corals to an increasingly hostile environment, are evaluated.
Journal ArticleDOI
Connectivity of marine populations: open or closed?
TL;DR: Eulerian and Lagrangian flow models were used and the alternative process of larval retention near local populations is shown to exist and may be of great importance in the maintenance of marine population structure and management of coastal marine resources.
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