Abstract
Thermal-stress events have changed the structure, biodiversity, and functioning of coral reefs. But how these disturbances affect the dynamics of individual coral colonies remains unclear. By tracking the fate of 1069 individual Acropora and massive Porites coral colonies for up to 5 years, spanning three bleaching events, we reveal striking genus-level differences in their demographic response to bleaching (mortality, growth, and recruitment). Although Acropora colonies were locally extirpated, substantial local recruitment and fast growth revealed a marked capacity for apparent recovery. By contrast, almost all massive Porites colonies survived and the majority grew in area; yet no new colonies were detected over the 5 years. Our results highlight contrasting dynamics of boom-and-bust vs. protracted declines in two major coral groups. These dangerous demographics emphasise the need for caution when documenting the susceptibility and perceived resistance or recovery of corals to disturbances.
Highlights
Thermal-stress events have changed the structure, biodiversity, and functioning of coral reefs
The majority of studies examining coral population dynamics have been based on coral cover or colony counts[1,6,8,9,10,11]
Using an extensive spatial design of fixed photo-quadrat locations (Fig. 1), we tracked the fate of 1069 coral colonies over 5 years (2016–2021), encompassing three mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)
Summary
Thermal-stress events have changed the structure, biodiversity, and functioning of coral reefs. How these disturbances affect the dynamics of individual coral colonies remains unclear. By tracking the fate of 1069 individual Acropora and massive Porites coral colonies for up to 5 years, spanning three bleaching events, we reveal striking genus-level differences in their demographic response to bleaching (mortality, growth, and recruitment). Our results highlight contrasting dynamics of boom-and-bust vs protracted declines in two major coral groups. These dangerous demographics emphasise the need for caution when documenting the susceptibility and perceived resistance or recovery of corals to disturbances. Our goal was to evaluate the extent, magnitude and variability of colony-level susceptibility to successive bleaching events, as well as the potential demographic consequences and their implications for recovery
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