Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave
Coral bleaching and mortality can show significant spatial and taxonomic heterogeneity at local scales, highlighting the need to understand the fine-scale drivers and impacts of thermal stress. In this study, we used structure-from-motion photogrammetry to track coral bleaching, mortality, and chang...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1108365/full |
| _version_ | 1797799504734322688 |
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| author | Shreya Yadav Ty N. F. Roach Michael J. McWilliam Carlo Caruso Mariana Rocha de Souza Catherine Foley Corinne Allen Jenna Dilworth Joel Huckeba Erika P. Santoro Renee Wold Jacquelyn Simpson Spencer Miller Joshua R. Hancock Crawford Drury Joshua S. Madin |
| author_facet | Shreya Yadav Ty N. F. Roach Michael J. McWilliam Carlo Caruso Mariana Rocha de Souza Catherine Foley Corinne Allen Jenna Dilworth Joel Huckeba Erika P. Santoro Renee Wold Jacquelyn Simpson Spencer Miller Joshua R. Hancock Crawford Drury Joshua S. Madin |
| author_sort | Shreya Yadav |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coral bleaching and mortality can show significant spatial and taxonomic heterogeneity at local scales, highlighting the need to understand the fine-scale drivers and impacts of thermal stress. In this study, we used structure-from-motion photogrammetry to track coral bleaching, mortality, and changes in community composition during the 2019 marine heatwave in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi. We surveyed 30 shallow reef patches every 3 weeks for the duration of the bleaching event (August-December) and one year after, resulting in a total of 210 large-area, high-resolution photomosaics that enabled us to follow the fate of thousands of coral colonies through time. We also measured environmental variables such as temperature, sedimentation, depth, and wave velocity at each of these sites, and extracted estimates of habitat complexity (rugosity R and fractal dimension D) from digital elevation models to better understand their effects on patterns of bleaching and mortality. We found that up to 80% of corals experienced moderate to severe bleaching in this period, with peak bleaching occurring in October when heat stress (Degree Heating Weeks) reached its maximum. Mortality continued to accumulate as bleaching levels dropped, driving large declines in more heat-susceptible species (77% loss of Pocillopora cover) and moderate declines in heat-tolerant species (19% and 23% for Porites compressa and Montipora capitata, respectively). Declines in live coral were accompanied by a rapid increase in algal cover across the survey sites. Spatial differences in bleaching were significantly linked to habitat complexity and coral species composition, with reefs that were dominated by Pocillopora experiencing the most severe bleaching. Mortality was also influenced by species composition, fractal dimension, and site-level differences in thermal stress. Our results show that spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of bleaching are driven by a mix of environmental variation, habitat complexity, and differences in assemblage composition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:19:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-90abe8387feb44a086ad20d4fcb4c382 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:19:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-90abe8387feb44a086ad20d4fcb4c3822023-06-20T12:33:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452023-06-011010.3389/fmars.2023.11083651108365Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwaveShreya Yadav0Ty N. F. Roach1Michael J. McWilliam2Carlo Caruso3Mariana Rocha de Souza4Catherine Foley5Corinne Allen6Jenna Dilworth7Joel Huckeba8Erika P. Santoro9Renee Wold10Jacquelyn Simpson11Spencer Miller12Joshua R. Hancock13Crawford Drury14Joshua S. Madin15Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesViral Information Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United StatesSchool of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United KingdomHawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesHawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesNortheast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesSchool of Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, AustraliaMarine and Environmental Biology Program, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesUniversity of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NetherlandsRed Sea Reseadch Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United StatesUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United StatesHawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesHawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesHawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesHawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, HI, United StatesCoral bleaching and mortality can show significant spatial and taxonomic heterogeneity at local scales, highlighting the need to understand the fine-scale drivers and impacts of thermal stress. In this study, we used structure-from-motion photogrammetry to track coral bleaching, mortality, and changes in community composition during the 2019 marine heatwave in Kāneʻohe Bay, Hawaiʻi. We surveyed 30 shallow reef patches every 3 weeks for the duration of the bleaching event (August-December) and one year after, resulting in a total of 210 large-area, high-resolution photomosaics that enabled us to follow the fate of thousands of coral colonies through time. We also measured environmental variables such as temperature, sedimentation, depth, and wave velocity at each of these sites, and extracted estimates of habitat complexity (rugosity R and fractal dimension D) from digital elevation models to better understand their effects on patterns of bleaching and mortality. We found that up to 80% of corals experienced moderate to severe bleaching in this period, with peak bleaching occurring in October when heat stress (Degree Heating Weeks) reached its maximum. Mortality continued to accumulate as bleaching levels dropped, driving large declines in more heat-susceptible species (77% loss of Pocillopora cover) and moderate declines in heat-tolerant species (19% and 23% for Porites compressa and Montipora capitata, respectively). Declines in live coral were accompanied by a rapid increase in algal cover across the survey sites. Spatial differences in bleaching were significantly linked to habitat complexity and coral species composition, with reefs that were dominated by Pocillopora experiencing the most severe bleaching. Mortality was also influenced by species composition, fractal dimension, and site-level differences in thermal stress. Our results show that spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of bleaching are driven by a mix of environmental variation, habitat complexity, and differences in assemblage composition.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1108365/fullsfm photogrammetryhabitat complexityclimate changePocilloporacoral bleaching |
| spellingShingle | Shreya Yadav Ty N. F. Roach Michael J. McWilliam Carlo Caruso Mariana Rocha de Souza Catherine Foley Corinne Allen Jenna Dilworth Joel Huckeba Erika P. Santoro Renee Wold Jacquelyn Simpson Spencer Miller Joshua R. Hancock Crawford Drury Joshua S. Madin Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave Frontiers in Marine Science sfm photogrammetry habitat complexity climate change Pocillopora coral bleaching |
| title | Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave |
| title_full | Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave |
| title_fullStr | Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave |
| title_short | Fine-scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave |
| title_sort | fine scale variability in coral bleaching and mortality during a marine heatwave |
| topic | sfm photogrammetry habitat complexity climate change Pocillopora coral bleaching |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2023.1108365/full |
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