title: Coral recovery may not herald the return of fishes on damaged coral reefs.
abstract: The dynamic nature of coral reefs offers a rare opportunity to examine the response of ecosystems to disruption due to climate change. In 1998, the Great Barrier Reef experienced widespread coral bleaching and mortality. As a result, cryptobenthic fish assemblages underwent a dramatic phase-shift. Thirteen years, and up to 96 fish generations later, the cryptobenthic fish assemblage has not returned to its pre-bleach configuration. This is despite coral abundances returning to, or exceeding, pre-bleach values. The post-bleach fish assemblage exhibits no evidence of recovery. If these short-lived fish species are a model for their longer-lived counterparts, they suggest that (1) the full effects of the 1998 bleaching event on long-lived fish populations have yet to be seen, (2) it may take decades, or more, before recovery or regeneration of these long-lived species will begin, and (3) fish assemblages may not recover to their previous composition despite the return of corals.
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia. David.Bellwood@jcu.edu.au
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Bellwood
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.forename: Martial
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Depczynski
authors.forename: Alonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Cabello
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hoey
authors.forename: Carine D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Lefèvre
authors.forename: Jennifer K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Tanner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D057231:Climate Change; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D057894:Coral Reefs; D005399:Fishes / Q000254:growth & development*; D011157:Population Dynamics