title: Larval connectivity across temperature gradients and its potential effect on heat tolerance in coral populations.
abstract: Coral reefs are increasingly exposed to elevated temperatures that can cause coral bleaching and high levels of mortality of corals and associated organisms. The temperature threshold for coral bleaching depends on the acclimation and adaptation of corals to the local maximum temperature regime. However, because of larval dispersal, coral populations can receive larvae from corals that are adapted to very different temperature regimes. We combine an offline particle tracking routine with output from a high-resolution physical oceanographic model to investigate whether connectivity of coral larvae between reefs of different thermal regimes could alter the thermal stress threshold of corals. Our results suggest that larval transport between reefs of widely varying temperatures is likely in the Coral Triangle and that accounting for this connectivity may be important in bleaching predictions. This has important implications in conservation planning, because connectivity may allow some reefs to have an inherited heat tolerance that is higher or lower than predicted based on local conditions alone.
authors.affiliation: Climate & Global Dynamics, National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO, 80307-3000, USA. kleypas@ucar.edu.
authors.forename: Joan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kleypas
authors.affiliation: Advanced Study Program, National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO, 80307-3000, USA.|Earth & Environment, Boston University, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: Climate & Global Dynamics, National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO, 80307-3000, USA.
authors.forename: Frederic S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Castruccio
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901-8551, USA.
authors.forename: Enrique N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Curchitser
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, 14 College Farm Road, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901-8551, USA.
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinsky
authors.affiliation: Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Kräftriket 2B, SE 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa; D057894:Coral Reefs; D007814:Larva; D013696:Temperature; D000071436:Thermotolerance
keywords: connectivity; coral reefs; larval dispersal; oceanographic modeling; thermal stress