Dataset Information

Widespread bleaching in the One Tree Island lagoon (Southern Great Barrier Reef) during record-breaking temperatures in 2020.

ABSTRACT: The global marine environment has been impacted significantly by climate change. Ocean temperatures are rising, and the frequency, duration and intensity of marine heatwaves are increasing, particularly affecting coral reefs. Coral bleaching events are becoming more common, with less recovery time between events. Anomalous temperatures at the start of 2020 caused widespread bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), extending to southern, previously less affected reefs such as One Tree Island. Here, nine video transects were conducted at One Tree Island, in the Capricorn Bunker Group, and analysed for community composition and diversity, and the extent of bleaching across taxa. Average live hard coral cover across the area was 11.62%, and almost half of this was identified as severely bleached. This bleaching event is concerning as it occurred in an area previously considered a potential refuge for corals and associated fauna from the risks of climate warming. Due to the global impacts of COVID-19 during 2020, this report provides one of potentially few monitoring efforts of coral bleaching.

SUBMITTER: Nolan MKB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8379602 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Widespread bleaching in the One Tree Island lagoon (Southern Great Barrier Reef) during record-breaking temperatures in 2020.

Nolan Megan K B MKB Schmidt-Roach Sebastian S Davis Andrew R AR Aranda Manuel M Howells Emily J EJ

Environmental monitoring and assessment 20210821 9

The global marine environment has been impacted significantly by climate change. Ocean temperatures are rising, and the frequency, duration and intensity of marine heatwaves are increasing, particularly affecting coral reefs. Coral bleaching events are becoming more common, with less recovery time between events. Anomalous temperatures at the start of 2020 caused widespread bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), extending to southern, previously less affected reefs such as One Tree Islan ...[more]

PMID: 34417871

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Project description:Ocean warming is known to cause detrimental effects in coral reef fauna that rely on photo-symbiosis for survival. Microbial associations can facilitate the success of species across a range of environmental conditions, and play a role in the capacity of organisms to respond to climate change. In 2016, the Great Barrier Reef experienced its third mass bleaching event, with sea surface temperature rising to 1.3°C above long-term monthly summer averages. Here, I investigate the effects of ocean warming on the chlorophyll a (chl a) content and microbiome of the large benthic Foraminifera Amphistegina radiata. Samples were collected in January and April 2016, before and after the mass bleaching event. In total, 71 specimens were collected from two different depths (6- and 18-m) to investigate depth-dependant responses associated with changes in chl a and microbiome. Pigment analysis showed a significant reduction in chl a between time points in specimens collected at both depths. Reduction in pigmentation was accompanied by changes in the microbiome, and a significant interaction of depth and time was observed. Genus-level bacterial community associated with A. radiata was significantly different across depth and time. However, ocean warming affected populations at both depths to a similar extent, and resulted in change from a Betaproteobacteria-dominated assemblage in January to a more diverse bacterial community by April. Analysis of presence/absence and relative abundance of bacterial taxa revealed significant differences between time points at both depths analyzed. OTUs classified as Firmicutes, which were either absent, or present in very low relative abundances (<0.1%) across all sample groups in January, were identified in abundances as high as ∼20% in specimens collected from 18-m depth in April. Class-level shifts were observed in shallow-dwelling specimens, from high abundances of Betaproteobacteria to a high abundance and diversity of Actinobacteria. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of LBF to the effects of ocean warming, for which depth did not provide protection, and highlights the capacity of LBF to re-assemble bacterial communities after a disturbance. This study provides the first molecular-based demonstration of changes in foraminifera-associated bacterial assemblages during a bleaching event on a natural reef system.

Dataset Information

Widespread bleaching in the One Tree Island lagoon (Southern Great Barrier Reef) during record-breaking temperatures in 2020.

Publications

Widespread bleaching in the One Tree Island lagoon (Southern Great Barrier Reef) during record-breaking temperatures in 2020.

Similar Datasets

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