Mass coral bleaching due to unprecedented marine heatwave in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).

ABSTRACT: 2014 marked the sixth and most widespread mass bleaching event reported in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, home to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM), the world's second largest marine reserve. This event was associated with an unusual basin-scale warming in the North Pacific Ocean, with an unprecedented peak intensity of around 20°C-weeks of cumulative heat stress at Lisianksi Island. In situ bleaching surveys and satellite data were used to evaluate the relative importance of potential drivers of bleaching patterns in 2014, assess the subsequent morality and its effects on coral communities and 3D complexity, test for signs of regional acclimation, and investigate long-term change in heat stress in PMNM. Surveys conducted at four island/atoll (French Frigate Shoals,

SUBMITTER: Couch CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5617177 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature