Severe cold-water bleaching of a deep-water reef underscores future challenges for Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems.
| Title: | Severe cold-water bleaching of a deep-water reef underscores future challenges for Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems. |
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| Authors: | Foreman AD; Climate Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany. Electronic address: alan.foreman@mpic.de.; Duprey NN; Climate Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany.; Yuval M; Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel; The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences of Eilat, Eilat 8810302, Israel.; Dumestre M; Climate Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany.; Leichliter JN; Emmy Noether Group for Hominin Meat Consumption, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany.; Rohr MC; The Rohr Foundation, 6506 Northaven Road, Dallas, TX 75230, United States.; Dodwell RCA; The Rohr Foundation, 6506 Northaven Road, Dallas, TX 75230, United States.; Dodwell GAS; The Rohr Foundation, 6506 Northaven Road, Dallas, TX 75230, United States.; Clua EEG; PSL Research University, Centre de Recherche Insulaire et Observatoire de l'Environnement (CRIOBE) UAR3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, BP 1013, Moorea 98729, French Polynesia; Labex CORAIL, CRIOBE UAR3278 EPHE-CNRS-UPVD, Université de Perpignan, 66000 Perpignan, France.; Treibitz T; Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel.; Martínez-García A; Climate Geochemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany. |
| Source: | The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2024 Nov 15; Vol. 951, pp. 175210. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 02. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0330500 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1879-1026 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00489697 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sci Total Environ Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier. |
| MeSH Terms: | Anthozoa*/physiology ; Coral Reefs* ; Climate Change* ; Cold Temperature*; Animals ; Coral Bleaching ; Environmental Monitoring ; Ecosystem |
| Abstract: | Elevated sea surface temperatures are causing an increase in coral bleaching events worldwide, and represent an existential threat to coral reefs. Early studies of Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs) highlighted their potential as thermal refuges for shallow-water coral species in the face of predicted 21st century warming. However, recent genetic evidence implies that limited ecological connectivity between shallow- and deep-water coral communities inhibits their effectiveness as refugia; instead MCEs host distinct endemic communities that are ecologically significant in and of themselves. In either scenario, understanding the response of MCEs to climate change is critical given their ecological significance and widespread global distribution. Such an understanding has so far eluded the community, however, because of the challenges associated with long-term field monitoring, the stochastic nature of climatic events that drive bleaching, and the paucity of deep-water observations. Here we document the first observed cold-water bleaching of a mesophotic coral reef at Clipperton Atoll, a remote Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) atoll with high coral cover and a well-developed MCE. The severe bleaching (>70 % partially or fully bleached coral cover at 32 m depth) was driven by an anomalously shallow thermocline, and highlights a significant and previously unreported challenge for MCEs. Prompted by these observations, we compiled published cold-water bleaching events for the ETP, and demonstrate that the timing of past cold-water bleaching events in the ETP coincides with decadal oscillations in mean zonal wind strength and thermocline depth. The latter observation suggests any future intensification of easterly winds in the Pacific could be a significant concern for its MCEs. Our observations, in combination with recent reports of warm-water bleaching of Red Sea and Indian Ocean MCEs, highlight that 21st century MCEs in the Eastern Pacific face a two-pronged challenge: warm-water bleaching from above, and cold-water bleaching from below.; (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Comments: | Erratum in: Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 10;950:175404. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175404.. (PMID: 39142959) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Climate change; Cold-water bleaching; Eastern Tropical Pacific; Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems; Pacific Decadal Variability; Warm-water bleaching |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20240804 Date Completed: 20240912 Latest Revision: 20240912 |
| Update Code: | 20260130 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175210 |
| PMID: | 39098414 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article