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Climate-change refugia in the sheltered bays of Palau: analogs of future reefs (summary by Laura)

4/9/2018

2 Comments

 
Citation:
Woesik, R., Houk, P., Isechal, A.L., Idechong, J.W., Victor, S., & Golbuu, Y. (2012) Climate-change refugia in the sheltered bays of Palau: analogs of future reefs. Ecology and evolution, 2, 2474–2484.
 
Purpose:
This study sets out to describe the effects of location on the degree of coral bleaching from thermal stress. They add the factor of taxonomy to determine which clades of coral are the most affected by this change. The scientists use this information to recommend where we should focus conservation efforts spatially in the face of climate change.
 
Methods:
Scientists used still pictures from video footage taken before and after a thermal stress event in 2010 to determine the degree of coral bleaching in Palauan reefs caused by the change in temperature. They recorded patterns in 35 genera of coral and three types of reef areas: bays, patch reefs, and outer reefs, and used a satellite to compare their respective geographical temperature.
 
Results:
Populations of the coral genus Pocillopora were the most affected by thermal stress, followed by Psammocora and Seriatopora. The warmest reefs experienced the least amount of temperature-derived damage. Therefore, the bay reefs were described as a possible refuge for coral during the event of thermal stress.
 
Significance for Palau:
Although the Palauan thermal stress event of 2010 serves as a microcosm of global climate change, the results apply directly to the health of Palauan coral reefs. This study tells us that the bay reefs of Palau should be the healthiest compared to any other type of Palauan reef. Therefore, Palauan bay reefs could be useful for the salvation of coral clades such as Pocillopora, which suffer greater consequences of thermal stress in out in patch and outer reefs. Additionally, it is possible that more diversity can be observed in these regions, which is helpful to understand for further research in Palau and even ecotourism.

2 Comments
Audrey Sellepack
4/15/2018 09:39:38 am

The phenomenon about Palau’s bay reefs being more successful came up in the paper I read, too (Golbuu et. al 2007)! I was so intrigued by it that I started googling around and came across this really cool PBS article on the state of Palau's bay reefs (citation below). Yimnang Golbuu - one of the secondary authors of this paper - is one of the coral reef conservation powerhouses in Palau. As a native Palauan, he attended college at UC Davis, and upon his return, a massive El Nino event destroyed large portions of the coral reefs he knew and loved from his childhood. This kickstarted some massive research and monitoring programs throughout the islands.

They are hypothesizing that the coral themselves in these enclosed bays are actually changing the chemistry of the water. Since coral pull calcium carbonate out of the water to form their skeletons, they are actually reducing the pH due to natural processes. The water in these enclosed bays has a very high residence time, meaning that the water in the bay lingers for a long time due to lack of a strong current or geographic barriers. Since the pH of this water is naturally a little lower, perhaps it is making the coral in these bays more resistant to ocean acidification and climate change.

The unique formation of Palau's rock islands is also an interesting aspect of reef conservation. The rock islands provide shade for corals, which in turn decreases the temperature of the water. The lack of light may be a little detrimental to their photosynthetic zooxanthellae, but there is still enough light penetration to keep the corals surviving.

The complex geography of Palau could give us an interesting insight to geographical indicators of reef refugia around the world. There may be similar patterns observed in some areas in the rest of the Indo Pacific, or even the caribbean.

Sokol, J. (2015, May 13). Palau's Improbably Healthy Coral Reefs. Retrieved April 15, 2018, from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/nature/acidic-coral-refugia/

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Tennessee Redheads link
3/30/2021 04:02:49 am

Thanks for this!

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    Rebecca Rundell & Jesse Czekanski-Moir

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