Direct and Indirect Effects of Climate Change‐Amplified Pulse Heat Stress Events on Coral Reef Fish Communities

Abstract

Climate change threatens the future of tropical corals, but less is known about how rising ocean temperatures impact reef fishes. We quantified reef fish communities in the equatorial Pacific (Kiritimati Island) before, during, and after an intense marine heatwave. Fish abundance and biomass around the atoll both halved during heat stress, presumably as fish migrated to deeper, cooler waters. One year after the heatwave, however, reef fishes had rebounded to pre-heatwave levels, with some notable exceptions: corallivores plummeted following the heatwave-induced mass coral mortality, herbivores increased as macroalgae proliferated, and reefs highly impacted by local human disturbance showed impaired recovery. These photographs illustrate the article “Direct and indirect effects of climate change-amplified pulse heat stress events on coral reef fish communities” by Jennifer M. T. Magel, Sean A. Dimoff, and Julia K. Baum published in Ecological Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2124