Publisher :
Place of publication :
Publication year : 2009
Thematic : Coral Reef
Language : English
Note
Understanding the variation in coral bleaching
response is necessary for making accurate predictions of
population changes and the future state of reefs in a climate
of increasing thermal stress events. Individual coral colonies,
belonging to inshore patch reef communities of the
Florida Keys, were followed through the 2005 mass
bleaching event. Overall, coral bleaching patterns followed
an index of accumulated thermal stress more closely than in
situ temperature measurements. Eight coral species (Colpophyllia
natans, Diploria strigosa, Montastraea cavernosa,
M. faveolata, Porites astreoides, P. porites, Siderastrea
siderea, and Stephanocoenia intersepta), representing
[90% of the coral colonies studied, experienced intense
levels of bleaching, but responses varied. Bleaching differed
significantly among species: Colpophyllia natans and
Diploria strigosa were most susceptible to thermal stress,
while Stephanocoenia intersepta was the most tolerant. For
colonies of C. natans, M. faveolata, and S. siderea, larger
colonies experienced more extensive bleaching than smaller
colonies. The inshore patch reef communities of the Florida
Keys have historically been dominated by large colonies of
Montastraea sp. and Colpophyllia natans. These results
provide evidence that colony-level differences can affect
bleaching susceptibility in this habitat and suggest that the
impact of future thermal stress events may be biased toward
larger colonies of dominant reef-building species. Predicted
increases in the frequency of mass bleaching and subsequent
mortality may therefore result in significant structural shifts
of these ecologically important communities.
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Keywords : Hylopetes platyurus
Encoded by : Pauline Carmel Joy Eje
