Contrasting Impacts of Different Disturbance Types on Coral Reefs: Wave Disturbance vs. Coral Bleaching

Abstract

Photo 1. Coral reef environments on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia following two different types of major disturbance events: (left) a large wave disturbance and (right) a coral bleaching event. The reef affected by the wave disturbance has relatively little structural complexity remaining on the reef, while the reef affected by bleaching retained high structural complexity in the form of dead coral skeletons. The center triangle depicts an undisturbed reef characterized by high cover of living coral. Photo credit: Kai L. Kopecky (left panel), Andrew Thurber (right and central panels). These photographs illustrate the article “Material legacies can degrade resilience: Structure-retaining disturbances promote regime shifts on coral reefs” by Kai L. Kopecky, Adrian C. Stier, Russell J. Schmitt, Sally J. Holbrook, Holly V. Moeller published in Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4006