Abstract
Climate-induced coral bleaching represents the foremost threat to coral assemblages globally, however bleaching susceptibility varies among and within coral taxa. We compared bleaching susceptibility among 10 coral morpho-taxa and two colony size classes relative to reef-scale bleaching severity at 33 reefs across the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea Marine Parks in February–March 2020. Colony size and bleaching severity caused the hierarchy of bleaching susceptibility among taxa to change considerably. Notably, massive Porites shifted from being among the least likely taxa to exhibit bleaching, to among the most susceptible as overall bleaching severity increased. Juvenile corals (≤5 cm diameter) were generally more resistant to bleaching, except for Montipora and Pocillopora colonies, which were more likely to bleach than adults (>5 cm). These findings suggest that colony size and reef-scale bleaching severity are important determinants of bleaching susceptibility among taxa and provide insights into possible shifts in the structure of coral assemblages caused by bleaching events.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 114907 |
| Journal | Marine Pollution Bulletin |
| Volume | 191 |
| Early online date | 18 Apr 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was jointly funded by the Director of National Parks, Australia , and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies .
Funding Information:
This research was jointly funded by the Director of National Parks, Australia, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.The authors extend their thanks to the crew and Captain of the MV Iron Joy, as well as to Russell Kelly, Magena Marzonie and Eoghan Aston for sharing their extensive knowledge and assisting in the field. This research was submitted for an MPhil at JCU by first author, Deborah Burn. This research was jointly funded by the Director of National Parks, Australia and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which greatly improved the manuscript, as well as the relevant staff at Parks Australia, with particular mention given to Martin Russell. The findings and views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Parks Australia, the Director of National Parks, or the Australian Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
