Extensive bleaching of Montastrea annularis spp. group and several other scleractinian taxa occurred on the reefs within the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park of Cozumel, Mexico, after the passage of Hurricane/Tropic...Extensive bleaching of Montastrea annularis spp. group and several other scleractinian taxa occurred on the reefs within the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park of Cozumel, Mexico, after the passage of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Rina. We conducted six drift dives at five different dive sites （-13 h of scuba diving） and photographed a variety of reefs scenes at depths of 10-28 m. Bleaching was noted at depths of 10-40 m in a variety of scleractinian species, including M. annularis species group, especially M. faveolata and Siderastrea siderea. Considering that local dive guides had not observed bleaching prior to the storm and the sea surface temperature did not exceed the local bleaching threshold, it is probable that the extensive rainfall associated with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Rina lowered salinity sufficiently via subsurface freshwater springs to cause bleaching in susceptible species. This suggests the need to monitor not only subsurface sea temperature but also subsurface salinity in localities where freshwater springs occur adjacent to or within coral reefs.展开更多
文摘Extensive bleaching of Montastrea annularis spp. group and several other scleractinian taxa occurred on the reefs within the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park of Cozumel, Mexico, after the passage of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Rina. We conducted six drift dives at five different dive sites （-13 h of scuba diving） and photographed a variety of reefs scenes at depths of 10-28 m. Bleaching was noted at depths of 10-40 m in a variety of scleractinian species, including M. annularis species group, especially M. faveolata and Siderastrea siderea. Considering that local dive guides had not observed bleaching prior to the storm and the sea surface temperature did not exceed the local bleaching threshold, it is probable that the extensive rainfall associated with Hurricane/Tropical Storm Rina lowered salinity sufficiently via subsurface freshwater springs to cause bleaching in susceptible species. This suggests the need to monitor not only subsurface sea temperature but also subsurface salinity in localities where freshwater springs occur adjacent to or within coral reefs.
