title: Annual coral bleaching and the long-term recovery capacity of coral.
abstract: Mass bleaching events are predicted to occur annually later this century. Nevertheless, it remains unknown whether corals will be able to recover between annual bleaching events. Using a combined tank and field experiment, we simulated annual bleaching by exposing three Caribbean coral species (Porites divaricata, Porites astreoides and Orbicella faveolata) to elevated temperatures for 2.5 weeks in 2 consecutive years. The impact of annual bleaching stress on chlorophyll a, energy reserves, calcification, and tissue C and N isotopes was assessed immediately after the second bleaching and after both short- and long-term recovery on the reef (1.5 and 11 months, respectively). While P. divaricata and O. faveolata were able to recover from repeat bleaching within 1 year, P. astreoides experienced cumulative damage that prevented full recovery within this time frame, suggesting that repeat bleaching had diminished its recovery capacity. Specifically, P. astreoides was not able to recover protein and carbohydrate concentrations. As energy reserves promote bleaching resistance, failure to recover from annual bleaching within 1 year will likely result in the future demise of heat-sensitive coral species.
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Earth and Environment, and UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia schoepf.4@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schoepf
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Andréa G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Grottoli
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Department of Geography and the Environment, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Levas
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Aschaffenburg
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Justin H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsui
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, USA.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Warner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D017691:Caribbean Region; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008136:Longevity; D008800:Mexico; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism; D012621:Seasons; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D002734:Chlorophyll; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
keywords: C and N isotopes; Caribbean; annual bleaching; calcification; energy reserves; long-term recovery