Coral Records of Variable Stress Impacts and Possible Acclimatization to Recent Marine Heat Wave Events on the Northwest Shelf of Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 1672-1688 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Clarke ◽  
J. P. D'Olivo ◽  
M. Conde ◽  
R. D. Evans ◽  
M. T. McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 1563-1581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangtao Xu ◽  
Ryan J. Lowe ◽  
Gregory N. Ivey ◽  
Nicole L. Jones ◽  
Zhenling Zhang

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 3583-3593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Caputi ◽  
Mervi Kangas ◽  
Ainslie Denham ◽  
Ming Feng ◽  
Alan Pearce ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1691-1703 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Rose ◽  
D. A. Smale ◽  
G. Botting

Abstract. Over 2000 km of Western Australian coastline experienced a significant marine heat wave in February and March 2011. Seawater temperature anomalies of +2–4 °C were recorded at a number of locations and satellite-derived SSTs were the highest on record. Here, we present seawater temperatures from southwestern Australia and describe, in detail, the marine climatology of Cockburn Sound; a large, multiple-use coastal embayment. We compared temperature and dissolved oxygen levels in 2011 with data from routine monitoring conducted from 2002–2010. A significant warming event, 2–4 °C in magnitude, persisted for >8 weeks, and seawater temperatures at 10 to 20 m depth were significantly higher than those recorded in the previous 9 yr. Dissolved oxygen levels were depressed at most monitoring sites, being ~2 mg l−1 lower than usual in early March 2011. Ecological responses to short-term extreme events are poorly understood, but evidence from elsewhere along the Western Australian coastline suggests that the heat wave was associated with high rates of coral bleaching, fish, invertebrate and macroalgae mortalities, and algal blooms. However, more ecological information from Cockburn Sound and other multiple-use embayments is urgently needed. The 2011 heat wave provided insights into conditions that may become more prevalent in Cockburn Sound, and elsewhere, if the intensity and frequency of short-term extreme events increases as predicted.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lillian R. Aoki ◽  
Karen J. McGlathery ◽  
Patricia L. Wiberg ◽  
Matthew P. J. Oreska ◽  
Amelie C. Berger ◽  
...  

Worldwide, seagrass meadows accumulate significant stocks of organic carbon (C), known as “blue” carbon, which can remain buried for decades to centuries. However, when seagrass meadows are disturbed, these C stocks may be remineralized, leading to significant CO2 emissions. Increasing ocean temperatures, and increasing frequency and severity of heat waves, threaten seagrass meadows and their sediment blue C. To date, no study has directly measured the impact of seagrass declines from high temperatures on sediment C stocks. Here, we use a long-term record of sediment C stocks from a 7-km2, restored eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadow to show that seagrass dieback following a single marine heat wave (MHW) led to significant losses of sediment C. Patterns of sediment C loss and re-accumulation lagged patterns of seagrass recovery. Sediment C losses were concentrated within the central area of the meadow, where sites experienced extreme shoot density declines of 90% during the MHW and net losses of 20% of sediment C over the following 3 years. However, this effect was not uniform; outer meadow sites showed little evidence of shoot declines during the MHW and had net increases of 60% of sediment C over the following 3 years. Overall, sites with higher seagrass recovery maintained 1.7x as much C compared to sites with lower recovery. Our study demonstrates that while seagrass blue C is vulnerable to MHWs, localization of seagrass loss can prevent meadow-wide C losses. Long-term (decadal and beyond) stability of seagrass blue C depends on seagrass resilience to short-term disturbance events.


Eos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri Cook

The extreme heat wave in the southwestern Atlantic in 2017 was likely caused by upper atmosphere circulation patterns triggered by the Madden-Julian Oscillation tropical weather cycle.


Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Thomasy

Researchers question whether Gulf of Alaska species will return to pre–heat wave conditions.


Ocean Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Rose ◽  
D. A. Smale ◽  
G. Botting

Abstract. Over 2000 km of Western Australian coastline experienced a significant marine heat wave in February and March 2011. Seawater temperature anomalies of +2–4 °C were recorded at a number of locations, and satellite-derived SSTs (sea surface temperatures) were the highest on record. Here, we present seawater temperatures from southwestern Australia and describe, in detail, the marine climatology of Cockburn Sound, a large, multiple-use coastal embayment. We compared temperature and dissolved oxygen levels in 2011 with data from routine monitoring conducted from 2002–2010. A significant warming event, 2–4 °C in magnitude, persisted for > 8 weeks, and seawater temperatures at 10 to 20 m depth were significantly higher than those recorded in the previous 9 yr. Dissolved oxygen levels were depressed at most monitoring sites, being ~ 2 mg l−1 lower than usual in early March 2011. Ecological responses to short-term extreme events are poorly understood, but evidence from elsewhere along the Western Australian coastline suggests that the heat wave was associated with high rates of coral bleaching; fish, invertebrate and macroalgae mortalities; and algal blooms. However, there is a paucity of historical information on ecologically-sensitive habitats and taxa in Cockburn Sound, so that formal examinations of biological responses to the heat wave were not possible. The 2011 heat wave provided insights into conditions that may become more prevalent in Cockburn Sound, and elsewhere, if the intensity and frequency of short-term extreme events increases as predicted.


2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. S39-S43 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Walsh ◽  
Richard L. Thoman ◽  
Uma S. Bhatt ◽  
Peter A. Bieniek ◽  
Brian Brettschneider ◽  
...  

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