Conference paper

Appeared in: Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, 9 - 13 July 2012, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Editor list: Yellowlees, D; Hughes, TP

Publication year: 2012

ISBN: 978-0-9808572-5-2

eISBN: 978-0-9808572-5-2

URL: http://www.icrs2012.com/proceedings/manuscripts/ICRS2012_9A_2.pdf

Conference: 12th International Coral Reef Symposium

Abstract: 

The first moderate coral bleaching event for decades in Tayrona National Natural Park (Colombian Caribbean) was observed between November and December 2010. The patchy local coral communities were also influenced by seasonal upwelling that decreased water temperatures from 28 °C to 21 °C from December 2010 until February 2011. This upwelling may mitigate coral bleaching. Patterns of coral bleaching were compared before and after upwelling at an upwelling-exposed and -sheltered site in Gayraca Bay. Findings revealed that bleaching was more pronounced at the sheltered sites with 34 % of all scleractinian corals being affected compared to only 8 % at the exposed site in December 2010. By April 2011, almost all previously bleached corals (97 %) at the upwelling-exposed site had recovered from bleaching. In contrast, only 77 % of bleached corals had recovered at the upwelling-sheltered site and 12 % had died. These results supportthe hypothesis that seasonal upwelling mitigates coral bleaching and facilitates recovery, however the causal environmental factors have not being identified so far. Continuous temperature monitoring in high temporal resolution did not reveal any significant differences between sites. Future research should therefore focus on the water current regime in order to assess potential key influences on coral reef functioning in Tayrona National Natural Park.

Harvard Citation style: Bayraktarov, E., Pizarro, V., Eidens, C., Wilke, T. and Wild, C. (2012) Upwelling mitigates coral bleaching in the Colombian Caribbean, in Yellowlees, D. and Hughes, T. (eds.) Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, 9 - 13 July 2012, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Townsville, Queensland: James Cook University. http://www.icrs2012.com/proceedings/manuscripts/ICRS2012_9A_2.pdf

APA Citation style: Bayraktarov, E., Pizarro, V., Eidens, C., Wilke, T., & Wild, C. (2012). Upwelling mitigates coral bleaching in the Colombian Caribbean. In Yellowlees, D., & Hughes, T. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, 9 - 13 July 2012, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. James Cook University. http://www.icrs2012.com/proceedings/manuscripts/ICRS2012_9A_2.pdf