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    Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals

    52828.pdf (185.5Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Hughes, T.
    Kerry, J.
    Álvarez-Noriega, M.
    Álvarez-Romero, J.
    Anderson, K.
    Baird, A.
    Babcock, R.
    Beger, M.
    Bellwood, D.
    Berkelmans, R.
    Bridge, T.
    Butler, I.
    Byrne, M.
    Cantin, N.
    Comeau, S.
    Connolly, S.
    Cumming, G.
    Dalton, S.
    Diaz-Pulido, G.
    Eakin, C.
    Figueira, W.
    Gilmour, J.
    Harrison, H.
    Heron, S.
    Hoey, A.
    Hobbs, Jean-Paul
    Hoogenboom, M.
    Kennedy, E.
    Kuo, C.
    Lough, J.
    Lowe, R.
    Liu, G.
    McCulloch, M.
    Malcolm, H.
    McWilliam, M.
    Pandolfi, J.
    Pears, R.
    Pratchett, M.
    Schoepf, V.
    Simpson, T.
    Skirving, W.
    Sommer, B.
    Torda, G.
    Wachenfeld, D.
    Willis, B.
    Wilson, S.
    Date
    2017
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Hughes, T. and Kerry, J. and Álvarez-Noriega, M. and Álvarez-Romero, J. and Anderson, K. and Baird, A. and Babcock, R. et al. 2017. Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature. 543: pp. 373-377.
    Source Title
    Nature
    DOI
    10.1038/nature21707
    ISSN
    0028-0836
    School
    Department of Environment and Agriculture
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52828
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    During 2015-2016, record temperatures triggered a pan-tropical episode of coral bleaching, the third global-scale event since mass bleaching was first documented in the 1980s. Here we examine how and why the severity of recurrent major bleaching events has varied at multiple scales, using aerial and underwater surveys of Australian reefs combined with satellite-derived sea surface temperatures. The distinctive geographic footprints of recurrent bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998, 2002 and 2016 were determined by the spatial pattern of sea temperatures in each year. Water quality and fishing pressure had minimal effect on the unprecedented bleaching in 2016, suggesting that local protection of reefs affords little or no resistance to extreme heat. Similarly, past exposure to bleaching in 1998 and 2002 did not lessen the severity of bleaching in 2016. Consequently, immediate global action to curb future warming is essential to secure a future for coral reefs.

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