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Ecology

Deep and complex ways to survive bleaching

Nature volume 518, pages 43–44 (2015)Cite this article

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Mass coral bleaching events can drive reefs from being the domains of corals to becoming dominated by seaweed. But longitudinal data show that more than half of the reefs studied rebound to their former glory. See Letter p.94

Coral bleaching occurs when the coral hosts expel their symbiotic dinoflagellates, which provide much of the vibrant coloration typical of coral reefs. Corals rely on the photosynthetic symbionts for their energy provision, and if bleached corals do not rapidly regain symbionts, they die. Mass bleaching events occur over broad spatial scales and affect a large component of the reef coral community. One such episode, in 1998, is often referred to as the largest mass bleaching event on record4; in the Seychelles, more than 90% of live coral cover was lost.

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Figure 1: Changing reefs.

George Roff

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  1. John M. Pandolfi is in the School of Biological Sciences and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.,

    John M. Pandolfi

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  1. John M. Pandolfi
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Correspondence to John M. Pandolfi.

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Pandolfi, J. Deep and complex ways to survive bleaching. Nature 518, 43–44 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14196

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