Coral bleaching hits Indian Ocean reefs
Coral bleaching has reached the Indian Ocean after ravaging reefs in the Pacific, raising the prospect that damage from warming seas and other stressors could soon be seen on a global scale.
In this photo, a brain coral (Platygyra) in Solomon Islands lagoon has started to bleach in patches along one side in British Indian Ocean Territory.
Read more: Indian Ocean reefs hit by coral bleaching
Bleached coral
A school of fusiliers swim above a patch reef in the process of bleaching in the lagoon of the Solomon Islands in in British Indian Ocean Territory.
The findings come from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, which undertook two separate surveys on the reefs as part of its Global Reef Expedition.
Bleached coral
A brain coral (Platygyra) in Solomon Islands lagoon has started to bleach in patches along one side in British Indian Ocean Territory.
Bleached coral
The corals don't bleach all at once, but in patches, some loosing their pigments faster than others.
Bleached coral
A school of juvenile fish gather above a table of Acropora coral in the process of bleaching in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Bleached coral
Some of the corals in Solomon Island were cotton-candy pink. These 'stressed' corals have lost their zooxanthellae, so the fluorescent pigments can now be seen, which were previously masked by the symbiotic algae.
Bleached coral
Corals turn surprising cotton-candy colors as they turn from brown to white in the process of bleaching in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). These corals are 'stressed', the paler corals are bleached, while the colored corals still have a chance to recover.
Bleached coral
Divers from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation survey a reef in the process of bleaching for the Global Reef Expedition.
Bleached coral
Jacks and fusiliers swim above a reef with bleached corals and anemones in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Bleached coral
The bleached table acroporids on the fore reef have started to die, with colonies becoming a mosaic of rapidly expanding denuded patches of skeleton.
Bleached coral
While conducting coral reef surveys for the Global Reef Expedition, scientists from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation watched as reefs in the Chagos Archipelago bleached from brown to white over the course of a few weeks of hot and calm weather in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Bleached coral
There is evidence that BIOT sustained high mortality (up to 100%) following the 1998 El Niño, but the reefs quickly rebounded.
Bleached coral
A school of juvenile fish gather above a table of Acropora coral in the process of bleaching in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
Bleached coral
The corals seen bleaching in BIOT did not do so all at once, but in patches, some loosing their pigments faster than others.
Bleached coral
What seems unusual here is the spatial variability of bleaching. Some atolls and reef systems show high prevalence of bleaching, while others had many fewer bleached corals. Also, some bleached colonies occurred right next to a normal unbleached colony of the same species.
Bleached coral
Some atolls and reef systems show high prevalence of bleaching, while others had many fewer bleached corals. Also, some bleached colonies occurred right next to a normal unbleached colony of the same species.
Bleached coral
The duration and ultimately the impact of the coral bleaching is currently unknown. Nevertheless, there are numerous indicators that suggest these reefs are likely to bounce back, even if there is high mortality.
Read more: Indian Ocean reefs hit by coral bleaching