34 research outputs found
Caribbean Corals in Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, and Mortality in 2005
BACKGROUND The rising temperature of the world's oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers' field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior efforts in detail and extent, and provided a new standard for documenting the effects of bleaching and for testing nowcast and forecast products. Collaborators from 22 countries undertook the most comprehensive documentation of basin-scale bleaching to date and found that over 80% of corals bleached and over 40% died at many sites. The most severe bleaching coincided with waters nearest a western Atlantic warm pool that was centered off the northern end of the Lesser Antilles. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Thermal stress during the 2005 event exceeded any observed from the Caribbean in the prior 20 years, and regionally-averaged temperatures were the warmest in over 150 years. Comparison of satellite data against field surveys demonstrated a significant predictive relationship between accumulated heat stress (measured using NOAA Coral Reef Watch's Degree Heating Weeks) and bleaching intensity. This severe, widespread bleaching and mortality will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for reef ecosystems and suggests a troubled future for tropical marine ecosystems under a warming climate.This work was partially supported by salaries from the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program to the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program authors. NOAA provided funding to Caribbean ReefCheck investigators to undertake surveys of bleaching and mortality. Otherwise, no funding from outside authors' institutions was necessary for the undertaking of this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
Three New Records for Micronesia of Cymothoid Isopods (Crustacea) Parasitic on Fishes
Ceratothoa angulata (Richardson) was found in the mouth of
Dussumier's halfbeak, Hyporhamphus dussumieri; Cymothoa bychowskyi
Avdeev in the gill chamber of the red cornetfish, Fistularia petimba; and Elthusa
raynaudii (Milne-Edwards) in the mouth of the blueline snapper, Lutjanus kasmira,
collected in Guam. Elthusa raynaudii has only been reported in the Southern
Hemisphere, except for one other record in Japan; C. bychowskyi has previously
only been found in the Indian Ocean; and C. angulata has previously
only been found in the Philippines and Borneo. The blueline snapper is a new
host for E. raynaudii. These great range extensions suggest how poorly cymothoid
isopods are known
3 New Species Of Renocila (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoidae), External Parasites Of Coral reef Fishes From The Ryukyu islands Of Japan
Volume: 100Start Page: 417End Page: 43
The 1St Anilocra And Pleopodias Isopods (Crustacea, Cymothoidae) Parasitic On Japanese Fishes, With 3 New Species
Volume: 99Start Page: 647End Page: 65
4 New Species Of Renocila Isopoda Cymothoidae The 1St Reported From The New world
Volume: 93Start Page: 573End Page: 59
Comments On The Proposed Conservation Of Lironeca Leach, 1818
Volume: 52Start Page: 263End Page: 26
9 New Species Of Anilocra Crustacea Isopoda Cymothoidae External Parasites Of West indian Coral Reef Fishes
Volume: 94Start Page: 1005End Page: 104