title: Local bleaching thresholds established by remote sensing techniques vary among reefs with deviating bleaching patterns during the 2012 event in the Arabian/Persian Gulf.
abstract: A severe bleaching event affected coral communities off the coast of Abu Dhabi, UAE in August/September, 2012. In Saadiyat and Ras Ghanada reefs ~40% of the corals showed signs of bleaching. In contrast, only 15% of the corals were affected on Delma reef. Bleaching threshold temperatures for these sites were established using remotely sensed sea surface temperature (SST) data recorded by MODIS-Aqua. The calculated threshold temperatures varied between locations (34.48 °C, 34.55 °C, 35.05 °C), resulting in site-specific deviations in the numbers of days during which these thresholds were exceeded. Hence, the less severe bleaching of Delma reef might be explained by the lower relative heat stress experienced by this coral community. However, the dominance of Porites spp. that is associated with the long-term exposure of Delma reef to elevated temperatures, as well as the more pristine setting may have additionally contributed to the higher coral bleaching threshold for this site.
authors.affiliation: Coral Reef Laboratory, Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, SO143ZH Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Dawood
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shuail
authors.affiliation: Coral Reef Laboratory, Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, SO143ZH Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiedenmann
authors.affiliation: Coral Reef Laboratory, Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, SO143ZH Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: D'Angelo
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Morgan S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pratchett
authors.affiliation: National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33314-7796, USA.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Riegl
authors.affiliation: Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.affiliation: Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment (ROPME), 13124 Safat, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petrov
authors.affiliation: Coral Reef Laboratory, Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, SO143ZH Southampton, UK.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Amos
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D057894:Coral Reefs; D006358:Hot Temperature; D019156:Indian Ocean; D010858:Pigmentation / Q000502:physiology*; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D014479:United Arab Emirates
keywords: Coral bleaching; Coral reefs; Extreme environment; Global change; Symbiodinium; Threshold temperature; Zooxanthellae