Coral Bleaching: Patterns, Processes, Causes and Consequences

One of the most dire consequences of global climate change for coral reefs is the increased frequency and severity of mass coral bleaching events. This volume provides information on the causes and consequences of coral bleaching for coral reef ecosystems, from the level of individual colonies to ecosystems and at different spatial scales, as well as a detailed analysis of how it can be detected and quantified. Future scenarios based on modelling efforts and the potential mechanisms of acclimatisation and adaptation are reviewed. The much more severe coral bleaching events experienced on Caribbean coral reefs (compared with those of the Indo-Pacific) are discussed, as are the differences in bleaching susceptibility and recovery that have been observed on smaller geographic scales.

Madeleine J.H. van Oppen
Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia and School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
e-mail: madeleine.van@unimelb.edu.au

J.M. Lough
Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australia
e-mail: j.lough@aims.gov.au