Caribbean massive corals not recovering from repeated thermal stress events during 2005–2013

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dc.contributor.authorNeal, Benjamin
dc.contributor.authorKhen, Adi
dc.contributor.authorTreibitz, Tali
dc.contributor.authorBeijbom, Oscar
dc.contributor.authorO'Connor, Grace
dc.contributor.authorCoffroth, Mary Alice
dc.contributor.authorKnowlton, Nancy
dc.contributor.authorKriegman, David
dc.contributor.authorMitchell, B. Greg
dc.contributor.authorKline, David I.
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-13T22:32:42Z
dc.date.available2025-03-13T22:32:42Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractMassive coral bleaching events associated with high sea surface temperatures are forecast to become more frequent and severe in the future due to climate change. Monitoring colony recovery from bleaching disturbances over multiyear time frames is important for improving predictions of future coral community changes. However, there are currently few multiyear studies describing long-term outcomes for coral colonies following acute bleaching events. We recorded colony pigmentation and size for bleached and unbleached groups of co-located conspecifics of three major reef-building scleractinian corals (Orbicella franksi, Siderastrea siderea, and Stephanocoenia michelini; n = 198 total) in Bocas del Toro, Panama, during the major 2005 bleaching event and then monitored pigmentation status and changes live tissue colony size for 8 years (2005–2013). Corals that were bleached in 2005 demonstrated markedly different response trajectories compared to unbleached colony groups, with extensive live tissue loss for bleached corals of all species following bleaching, with mean live tissue losses per colony 9 months postbleaching of 26.2% (±5.4 SE) for O. franksi, 35.7% (±4.7 SE) for S. michelini, and 11.2% (±3.9 SE) for S. siderea. Two species, O. franksi and S. michelini, later recovered to net positive growth, which continued until a second thermal stress event in 2010. Following this event, all species again lost tissue, with previously unbleached colony species groups experiencing greater declines than conspecific sample groups, which were previously bleached, indicating a possible positive acclimative response. However, despite this beneficial effect for previously bleached corals, all groups experienced substantial net tissue loss between 2005 and 2013, indicating that many important Caribbean reef-building corals will likely suffer continued tissue loss and may be unable to maintain current benthic coverage when faced with future thermal stress forecast for the region, even with potential benefits from bleaching-related acclimation.
dc.description.reviewstatusReviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelFaculty
dc.description.sponsorshipThis project supported by NSF Awards OCE 09-41760 (B.G. Mitchell – PI) and OCE-09-26822 (M. Coffroth – PI). In-country Panama support provided to M.A. Coffroth and D.I. Kline by E. Bermingham and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI).
dc.identifier.citationNeal, B. P., Khen, A., Treibitz, T., Beijbom, O., O’Connor, G., Coffroth, M. A., Knowlton, N., Kriegman, D., Mitchell, B. G., & Kline, D. I. (2017). Caribbean massive corals not recovering from repeated thermal stress events during 2005–2013. Ecology and Evolution, 7(5), 1339–1353. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2706
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2706
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/21423
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherEcology and Evolution
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Biology
dc.titleCaribbean massive corals not recovering from repeated thermal stress events during 2005–2013
dc.typeArticle

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