Low coral bleaching prevalence at the Bolinao-Anda Reef Complex, northwestern Philippines during the 2016 thermal stress event
Timothy Joseph R. Quimpo, Jeremiah Noelle C. Requilme, Elizabeth J. Gomez, Sherry Lyn G. Sayco, Mark Paulo S. Tolentino, Patrick C. Cabaitan, Low coral bleaching prevalence at the Bolinao-Anda Reef Complex, northwestern Philippines during the 2016 thermal stress event, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume 160, 2020, 111567, ISSN 0025-326X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111567. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X20306858)
Key Findings
- Coral and benthic communities did not change 1–2 years after the thermal stress event.
- Coral bleaching prevalence was influenced by site location and coral taxa composition.
- Dipsastrea, Porites, Fungia, Seriatopora, and Montipora comprised 77% of the bleached corals.
- Less than 25% of the coral colonies bleached
Low coral bleaching prevalence in northwestern Philippines during the 2016 thermal stress event
Abstract
Here, we examined the coral bleaching responses during the 2016 thermal stress event and post-bleaching changes in coral communities in the heavily disturbed reefs of the Bolinao-Anda Reef Complex (BARC), northwestern Philippines. Less than 25% of colonies bleached, with 77% attributed to five genera (Dipsastrea, Porites, Fungia, Seriatopora, and Montipora). Coral bleaching prevalence was associated with site location, coral composition, and coral abundance, suggesting that small-scale variation (<20 km) in coral communities (taxa and density) influences spatial variation in coral bleaching prevalence. There was no noticeable change in coral composition and cover two years after the bleaching event as exposure to chronic disturbance likely selected for the dominance of stress tolerant coral taxa and communities. Results show that the 2016 thermal stress event caused coral bleaching but with low prevalence at the BARC, which suggests that disturbed reefs may provide spatial refuge to coral communities from thermal stress.
