Dangerous demographics in post-bleach corals reveal boom-bust versus protracted declines.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Morais J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8458526 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Dangerous demographics in post-bleach corals reveal boom-bust versus protracted declines.
Morais Juliano J Morais Renato A RA Tebbett Sterling B SB Pratchett Morgan S MS Bellwood David R DR
Scientific reports 20210922 1
Thermal-stress events have changed the structure, biodiversity, and functioning of coral reefs. But how these disturbances affect the dynamics of individual coral colonies remains unclear. By tracking the fate of 1069 individual Acropora and massive Porites coral colonies for up to 5 years, spanning three bleaching events, we reveal striking genus-level differences in their demographic response to bleaching (mortality, growth, and recruitment). Although Acropora colonies were locally extirpated, ...[more]
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