Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef
While many studies of coral bleaching report on broad, regional scale responses, fewer examine variation in susceptibility among coral taxa and changes in community structure, before, during and after bleaching on individual reefs. Here we report in detail on the response to bleaching by a coral com...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2017
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80764 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/42233 |
| _version_ | 1811678863087894528 |
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| author | Guest, J. R. Low, J. Tun, K. Wilson, B. Ng, C. Raingeard, D. Ulstrup, K. E. Tanzil, Jani Thuaibah Isa Todd, P. A. Toh, T. C. McDougald, Diane Chou, L. M. Steinberg, P. D. |
| author2 | Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering |
| author_facet | Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering Guest, J. R. Low, J. Tun, K. Wilson, B. Ng, C. Raingeard, D. Ulstrup, K. E. Tanzil, Jani Thuaibah Isa Todd, P. A. Toh, T. C. McDougald, Diane Chou, L. M. Steinberg, P. D. |
| author_sort | Guest, J. R. |
| collection | NTU |
| description | While many studies of coral bleaching report on broad, regional scale responses, fewer examine variation in susceptibility among coral taxa and changes in community structure, before, during and after bleaching on individual reefs. Here we report in detail on the response to bleaching by a coral community on a highly disturbed reef site south of mainland Singapore before, during and after a major thermal anomaly in 2010. To estimate the capacity for resistance to thermal stress, we report on: a) overall bleaching severity during and after the event, b) differences in bleaching susceptibility among taxa during the event, and c) changes in coral community structure one year before and after bleaching. Approximately two thirds of colonies bleached, however, post-bleaching recovery was quite rapid and, importantly, coral taxa that are usually highly susceptible were relatively unaffected. Although total coral cover declined, there was no significant change in coral taxonomic community structure before and after bleaching. Several factors may have contributed to the overall high resistance of corals at this site including Symbiodinium affiliation, turbidity and heterotrophy. Our results suggest that, despite experiencing chronic anthropogenic disturbances, turbid shallow reef communities may be remarkably resilient to acute thermal stress. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:00:01Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/80764 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:00:01Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/807642022-02-16T16:28:23Z Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef Guest, J. R. Low, J. Tun, K. Wilson, B. Ng, C. Raingeard, D. Ulstrup, K. E. Tanzil, Jani Thuaibah Isa Todd, P. A. Toh, T. C. McDougald, Diane Chou, L. M. Steinberg, P. D. Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering Earth Observatory of Singapore Coral community Community ecology While many studies of coral bleaching report on broad, regional scale responses, fewer examine variation in susceptibility among coral taxa and changes in community structure, before, during and after bleaching on individual reefs. Here we report in detail on the response to bleaching by a coral community on a highly disturbed reef site south of mainland Singapore before, during and after a major thermal anomaly in 2010. To estimate the capacity for resistance to thermal stress, we report on: a) overall bleaching severity during and after the event, b) differences in bleaching susceptibility among taxa during the event, and c) changes in coral community structure one year before and after bleaching. Approximately two thirds of colonies bleached, however, post-bleaching recovery was quite rapid and, importantly, coral taxa that are usually highly susceptible were relatively unaffected. Although total coral cover declined, there was no significant change in coral taxonomic community structure before and after bleaching. Several factors may have contributed to the overall high resistance of corals at this site including Symbiodinium affiliation, turbidity and heterotrophy. Our results suggest that, despite experiencing chronic anthropogenic disturbances, turbid shallow reef communities may be remarkably resilient to acute thermal stress. Published version 2017-04-06T06:22:52Z 2019-12-06T13:58:26Z 2017-04-06T06:22:52Z 2019-12-06T13:58:26Z 2016 Journal Article Guest, J. R., Low, J., Tun, K., Wilson, B., Ng, C., Raingeard, D., et al. (2016). Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef. Scientific Reports, 6, 20717-. 2045-2322 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80764 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/42233 10.1038/srep20717 26876092 en Scientific Reports © 2016 The Authors (published by Nature Publishing Group). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Coral community Community ecology Guest, J. R. Low, J. Tun, K. Wilson, B. Ng, C. Raingeard, D. Ulstrup, K. E. Tanzil, Jani Thuaibah Isa Todd, P. A. Toh, T. C. McDougald, Diane Chou, L. M. Steinberg, P. D. Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| title | Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| title_full | Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| title_fullStr | Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| title_short | Coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| title_sort | coral community response to bleaching on a highly disturbed reef |
| topic | Coral community Community ecology |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80764 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/42233 |
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