Bleaching

Coral bleaching research highlights from TCRMP

• Shallow water corals bleached extensively during the 2005 warm water event, and suffered unprecedented levels of disease and mortality
• Responses were species-specific, with susceptible, resistant and resilient Caribbean taxa identified
• Mesophotic corals (>30m depth) bleached less, but had high disease and mortality, pointing to susceptibility in potential refuge (n=4)

Relevant References

Glynn PW, Riegl B, Purkis S, Kerr J, Smith TB (in press) Coral reef recovery at Darwin, the northern-most of the Galapagos Islands. Coral Reefs 34:421-436 DOI 10.1007/s00338-015-1280-4

Smith TB, Maté JL, Gyory J (in press) Refuges and refugia for stony corals in the eastern tropical Pacific. Invited book chapter for “Coral Reefs of the World: Coral Reef of the Eastern Tropical Pacific” Glynn PW, Manzello D, Enochs, I (eds.) Springer- Verlag

Edmunds PJ, Adjeroud M, Baskett ML, Baums IB, Budd AF, Carpenter RC, Fabina NS, Fan T-Y, Franklin EC, Gross K, Han X, Jacobson L, Klaus JS, McClanahan TR, O'Leary JK, van Oppen MJH, Pochon X, Putnam HM, Smith TB, Stat M, Sweatman H, van Woesik R, Gates RD (2014) Persistence and change in community composition of reef corals through present, past, and future climates. PLoS ONE 9:e107525

Smith TB, Glynn PW, Mate JL, Toth LT, Gyory J (2014) A depth refuge from catastrophic coral bleaching prevents regional extinction. Ecology 95:1663-1673

Brandt ME, Smith TB, Correa AMS, Vega-Thurber R (2013) Disturbance driven colony fragmentation as a driver of a coral disease outbreak. PLoS ONE 8:e57164

Smith TB, Brandt ME, Calnan JM, Nemeth RS, Blondeau J, Kadison E, Taylor M, Rothenberger JP (2013) Convergent mortality responses of Caribbean coral species to seawater warming. Ecosphere 4:art87

Eakin CM, Morgan JA, Heron SF, Smith TB, and 63 others (2010) Caribbean Corals in Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, and Mortality in 2005. PLoS ONE 5:e13969

Rothenberger J, et al. (2008) The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States: 2008. NOAA Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment’s Biogeography Team, Silver Spring, MD, pp 567

Woody K, et al. (2008) Coral Bleaching in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2005 and 2006. In: Wilkinson C, Souter D (eds) Status of Caribbean Coral Reefs After Bleaching and Hurricanes in 2005. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, and Reef and Rainforest Research Center, Townsville, pp 152

Manzello DP, Brandt ME, Smith TB, Lirman D, Nemeth RS (2007) Hurricanes benefit bleached corals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(29):12035-12039