Fine-scale heterogeneity reveals disproportionate thermal stress and coral mortality in thermally variable reef habitats during a marine heatwave.

ABSTRACT: Increasing ocean temperatures threaten coral reefs globally, but corals residing in habitats that experience high thermal variability are thought to be better adapted to survive climate-induced heat stress. Here, we used long-term ecological observations and in situ temperature data from Heron Island, southern Great Barrier Reef to investigate how temperature dynamics within various thermally variable vs. thermally stable reef habitats change during a marine heatwave and the resulting consequences for coral community survival. During the heatwave, thermally variable habitats experienced larger surges in daily mean and maxima temperatures compared to stable sites, including extreme hourly incursions up to 36.5 °C. The disproportionate increase in heat stress in variable habitats corresponde

SUBMITTER: Brown KT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9672654 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature