Transient turbid water mass reduces temperature-induced coral bleaching and mortality in Barbados.

ABSTRACT: Global warming is seen as one of the greatest threats to the world's coral reefs and, with the continued rise in sea surface temperature predicted into the future, there is a great need for further understanding of how to prevent and address the damaging impacts. This is particularly so for countries whose economies depend heavily on healthy reefs, such as those of the eastern Caribbean. Here, we compare the severity of bleaching and mortality for five dominant coral species at six representative reef sites in Barbados during the two most significant warm-water events ever recorded in the eastern Caribbean, i.e., 2005 and 2010, and describe prevailing island-scale sea water conditions during both events. In so doing, we demonstrate that coral bleaching and subsequent mortality were conside

SUBMITTER: Oxenford HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4911954 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature