Science Source
Marine heatwave causes unprecedented regional mass bleaching of thermally resistant corals in northwestern Australia
- States that in 2015/16, a marine heatwave associated with a record El Niño led to the third global mass bleaching event documented to date
- States that this event impacted coral reefs around the world, including in Western Australia (WA), although WA reefs had largely escaped bleaching during previous strong El Niño years
- Conducts coral health surveys during the austral summer of 2016 in four bioregions along the WA coast (~17 degrees of latitude), ranging from tropical to temperate locations
- Finds that the heatwave primarily affected the macrotidal Kimberley region in northwest WA (~16°S), where 4.5–9.3 degree heating weeks (DHW) resulted in 56.6–80.6% bleaching
- Findings demonstrate that even heat-tolerant corals from naturally extreme, thermally variable reef environments are threatened by heatwaves
- Notes that the only other major mass bleaching in WA occurred during a strong La Niña event in 2010/11 and primarily affected reefs along the central-to-southern coast
- Results suggest that WA reefs are now at risk of severe bleaching during both El Niño and La Niña years
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