Regional decline in growth rates of massive <i><scp>P</scp>orites</i> corals in <scp>S</scp>outheast <scp>A</scp>sia

Tanzil, Jani; Brown, Barbara E.; Dunne, R. P.; Lee, Jen N.; Kaandorp, Jaap A.; Todd, Peter A.

doi:10.1111/gcb.12279

Cited by 95 publications

(99 citation statements)

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“…This is also confirmed, with the opposite effect reported on coral communities located in the tropical zone, where coral growth has decreased 11–21% associated with the steady increment of the SST (Cooper et al, 2008; De’ath, Lough & Fabricius, 2009; Tanzil et al, 2013; Ridd, Da Silva & Stieglitz, 2013). The SST keeps the organism on the limit of their thermal threshold and consequently decrease or inhibit the coral growth.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Calcification and growth rate recovery of the reef-buildingPocilloporaspecies in the northeast tropical Pacific following an ENSO disturbance

Tortolero-Langarica

Rodríguez-Troncoso

Cupul-Magaña

et al. 2017

PeerJ

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Pocilloporids are one of the major reef-building corals in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) and also the most affected by thermal stress events, mainly those associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) periods. To date, coral growth parameters have been poorly reported in Pocillopora species in the northeastern region of the tropical Pacific. Monthly and annual growth rates of the three most abundant morphospecies (P. cf. verrucosa, P. cf. capitata, and P. cf. damicornis) were evaluated during two annual periods at a site on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The first annual period, 2010–2011 was considered a strong ENSO/La Niña period with cool sea surface temperatures, then followed by a non-ENSO period in 2012–2013. The linear extension rate, skeletal density, and calcification rate averaged (±SD) were 2.31 ± 0.11 cm yr−1, 1.65 ± 0.18 g cm−3, 5.03 ± 0.84 g cm−2 yr-1 respectively, during the strong ENSO event. In contrast, the respective non-ENSO values were 3.50 ± 0.64 cm yr−1, 1.70 ± 0.18 g cm−3, and 6.02 ± 1.36 g cm−2 yr−1. This corresponds to 52% and 20% faster linear extension and calcification rates, respectively, during non-ENSO period. The evidence suggests that Pocillopora branching species responded positively with faster growth rates following thermal anomalies, which allow them to maintain coral communities in the region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Calcification and growth rate recovery of the reef-buildingPocilloporaspecies in the northeast tropical Pacific following an ENSO disturbance

Tortolero-Langarica

Rodríguez-Troncoso

Cupul-Magaña

et al. 2017

PeerJ

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“…This observation is consistent with multiple studies that have reported marked decreases in coral growth over the past few decades, including data from the Great Barrier Reef (Cooper et al, 2008;De'ath et al, 2009), Red Sea (Cantin et al, 2010), Belize (Castillo et al, 2011), Andaman Sea (Tanzil et al, 2009), the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Tanzil et al, 2013), and Panama (Manzello, 2010). On many of these reefs, declining trends in growth have been linked to increasing SST, suggesting that ocean warming may have already produced temperatures that surpass the thermal thresholds of many reef-building corals worldwide.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

A scientific framework for evaluating coral reef resilience to climate change

Barkley¹

2016

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The 21 century warming and acidification of tropical oceans will impact the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems. Consequently, conservation efforts are increasingly focused on identifying and protecting reef communities that demonstrate resilience to these changes. In this thesis, I develop a scientific framework for identifying climate change resilience in coral communities and, using Palau's coral reefs as a case study, demonstrate the application of this approach. First, I use coral skeletal records to evaluate the sensitivity of coral communities to episodes of severe thermal stress. This information reveals coral reef communities that consistently exhibit weak responses to multiple high temperature events. Second, I evaluate coral reef community structure across a strong, natural pH gradient using metrics informed by laboratory ocean acidification studies. The coral communities of Palau's Rock Island reefs show a level of pH tolerance that is unique amongst reefs studied to date. Third, I conduct laboratory and field experiments to constrain the pH thresholds of these resilient corals and investigate potential mechanisms for pH tolerance. Finally, I combine archipelago-wide coral temperature and pH sensitivity data to construct climate change resilience indices. My study succeeds in identifying a small number of coral communities that have the potential to withstand 21 century climate change and highlights the spatial variability in community responses to ocean warming and acidification. Critically, I present a set of scientific tools and approaches for identifying resilient coral reef communities that has applicability to coral reefs worldwide. I thank all of the members of the Cohen Lab past and present -Katie Shamberger, Liz Drenkard, Alice Alpert, Tom DeCarlo, Sara Bosshart, Hanny Rivera, Nathan Mollica, Michael Holcomb, and Neal Cantin -for their scientific knowledge, assistance in the field, camaraderie in research, and friendship. I am grateful to Kathryn Pietro and Pat Lohmann for their help in collecting field samples; Liz Bonk, Katherine Hoering, Dave Wellwood, and Paul Henderson for assistance in carbonate chemistry, salinity, and nutrient analyses; Julie Arruda and Scott Cramer for CT-scanning my coral cores; and Ed O'Brien and the WHOI Diving Program for helping with SCUBA diving operations. In addition, I thank the WHOI Academic Programs Office for their tireless assistance, support, and guidance.My extensive field research was made possible by the scientists and staff of the Palau International Coral Reef Center, who provided me with essential logistical aid during six field expeditions to Palau, drove me all over the archipelago to sample water and coral, helped me set up my laboratory experiments, and taught me about Palau's coral reefs. Sulang! The completion of this five-year journey is very much a result of the amazing love and endless support of my incredible family and friends. In particular, I thank my parents, Ron and Barbara, and my brother, Ben, who have celebra...

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“…A 30% decrease in linear extension rate since 1998 has also been detected in Diploastrea corals in the Red Sea [30]. A region-wide 19% decline in Porites calcification rates between 1980 and 2010 has recently been reported across six locations of the Thai-Malay Peninsula of southeast Asia [31]. Several studies which re-measured (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Surviving Coral Bleaching Events: Porites Growth Anomalies on the Great Barrier Reef

2014

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Mass coral bleaching affected large parts of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in 1998 and 2002. In this study, we assessed if signatures of these major thermal stress events were recorded in the growth characteristics of massive Porites colonies. In 2005 a suite of short (<50 cm) cores were collected from apparently healthy, surviving Porites colonies, from reefs in the central GBR (18–19°S) that have documented observations of widespread bleaching. Sites included inshore (Nelly Bay, Pandora Reef), annually affected by freshwater flood events, midshelf (Rib Reef), only occasionally affected by freshwater floods and offshore (Myrmidon Reef) locations primarily exposed to open ocean conditions. Annual growth characteristics (extension, density and calcification) were measured in 144 cores from 79 coral colonies and analysed over the common 24-year period, 1980–2003. Visual examination of the annual density bands revealed growth hiatuses associated with the bleaching years in the form of abrupt decreases in annual linear extension rates, high density stress bands and partial mortality. The 1998 mass-bleaching event reduced Porites calcification by 13 and 18% on the two inshore locations for 4 years, followed by recovery to baseline calcification rates in 2002. Evidence of partial mortality was apparent in 10% of the offshore colonies in 2002; however no significant effects of the bleaching events were evident in the calcification rates at the mid shelf and offshore sites. These results highlight the spatial variation of mass bleaching events and that all reef locations within the GBR were not equally stressed by the 1998 and 2002 mass bleaching events, as some models tend to suggest, which enabled recovery of calcification on the GBR within 4 years. The dynamics in annual calcification rates and recovery displayed here should be used to improve model outputs that project how coral calcification will respond to ongoing warming of the tropical oceans.

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Regional decline in growth rates of massive Porites corals in Southeast Asia

Cited by 95 publications

References 50 publications

Calcification and growth rate recovery of the reef-buildingPocilloporaspecies in the northeast tropical Pacific following an ENSO disturbance

Calcification and growth rate recovery of the reef-buildingPocilloporaspecies in the northeast tropical Pacific following an ENSO disturbance

A scientific framework for evaluating coral reef resilience to climate change

Surviving Coral Bleaching Events: Porites Growth Anomalies on the Great Barrier Reef

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