IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v556y2018i7702d10.1038_s41586-018-0041-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages

Author

Listed:
  • Terry P. Hughes

    (James Cook University)

  • James T. Kerry

    (James Cook University)

  • Andrew H. Baird

    (James Cook University)

  • Sean R. Connolly

    (James Cook University
    James Cook University)

  • Andreas Dietzel

    (James Cook University)

  • C. Mark Eakin

    (Coral Reef Watch, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

  • Scott F. Heron

    (Coral Reef Watch, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Global Science & Technology, Inc.
    James Cook University)

  • Andrew S. Hoey

    (James Cook University)

  • Mia O. Hoogenboom

    (James Cook University
    James Cook University)

  • Gang Liu

    (Coral Reef Watch, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Global Science & Technology, Inc.)

  • Michael J. McWilliam

    (James Cook University)

  • Rachel J. Pears

    (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority)

  • Morgan S. Pratchett

    (James Cook University)

  • William J. Skirving

    (Coral Reef Watch, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Global Science & Technology, Inc.)

  • Jessica S. Stella

    (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority)

  • Gergely Torda

    (James Cook University
    Australian Institute of Marine Science)

Abstract

Global warming is rapidly emerging as a universal threat to ecological integrity and function, highlighting the urgent need for a better understanding of the impact of heat exposure on the resilience of ecosystems and the people who depend on them 1 . Here we show that in the aftermath of the record-breaking marine heatwave on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 2 , corals began to die immediately on reefs where the accumulated heat exposure exceeded a critical threshold of degree heating weeks, which was 3–4 °C-weeks. After eight months, an exposure of 6 °C-weeks or more drove an unprecedented, regional-scale shift in the composition of coral assemblages, reflecting markedly divergent responses to heat stress by different taxa. Fast-growing staghorn and tabular corals suffered a catastrophic die-off, transforming the three-dimensionality and ecological functioning of 29% of the 3,863 reefs comprising the world’s largest coral reef system. Our study bridges the gap between the theory and practice of assessing the risk of ecosystem collapse, under the emerging framework for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems 3 , by rigorously defining both the initial and collapsed states, identifying the major driver of change, and establishing quantitative collapse thresholds. The increasing prevalence of post-bleaching mass mortality of corals represents a radical shift in the disturbance regimes of tropical reefs, both adding to and far exceeding the influence of recurrent cyclones and other local pulse events, presenting a fundamental challenge to the long-term future of these iconic ecosystems.

Suggested Citation

  • Terry P. Hughes & James T. Kerry & Andrew H. Baird & Sean R. Connolly & Andreas Dietzel & C. Mark Eakin & Scott F. Heron & Andrew S. Hoey & Mia O. Hoogenboom & Gang Liu & Michael J. McWilliam & Rachel, 2018. "Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages," Nature, Nature, vol. 556(7702), pages 492-496, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:556:y:2018:i:7702:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0041-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0041-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0041-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41586-018-0041-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:556:y:2018:i:7702:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0041-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.