Introduction: Coral Bleaching — Patterns, Processes, Causes and Consequences

Abstract

Tropical coral reefs are the most biologically diverse of marine ecosystems “equalling in beauty and excelling in grandeur the most favourite parterre of the curious florist” (Matthew Flinders, October 1802). At the heart of these complex ecosystems is an obligate symbiosis between the coral animal and single-celled photosynthetic algae. This mutually beneficial relationship provides the coral host with sufficient cheap energy to form the massive reef structures that create diverse habitats for many other organisms. Aside from their natural beauty, many millions of people depend on healthy coral reefs for their livelihoods. Direct local impacts of human activities on many of the world’s coral reefs have already generated the “coral reef crisis”. Human activities, through increased greenhouse gases, are now imposing a compounding threat to maintenance of these charismatic ecosystems -- mass coral bleaching events (where the coral--algal symbiosis breaks down) due to thermal stress. This book brings together current scientific information on coral bleaching at different space and time scales, from deep geological time to future projections and its consequences for the many associated coral reef organisms.