Discovery of a recovering climax Acropora community in Kanton Lagoon in the remote Phoenix Islands Protected Area
Sangeeta Mangubhai
A C , Yashika Nand A and Randi Rotjan B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Wildlife Conservation Society, 11 Ma’afu Street, Suva, Fiji.
B Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02210, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: smangubhai@gmail.com
Pacific Conservation Biology 25(3) 322-323 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18051
Submitted: 9 June 2018 Accepted: 3 October 2018 Published: 2 November 2018
Abstract
A thermal stress that started in 2002 and peaked at 21 degree heating weeks resulted in near-100% mortality of corals in Kanton Lagoon. An expedition in 2015 documented a 52.8% recovery of hard corals in the lagoon. Despite temperatures reaching as high as 30.5°C there was almost no bleaching of Acropora stands within the lagoon, suggesting that recovering species are more resistant to thermal stress.
References
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