Bleaching

[Phillip Dustan]

Hi Mary,

Sorry to hear the news. However, please try to mark and observe individual=
 colonies.  Whatever happens, you will need the data on individual colony=
 mortality / recovery.  My experience in American Samoa suggested that there=
 was quite a bit of disease but it was not widespread. However, if the=
 corals are in a weakened state from bleaching, the diseases may begin to=
 increase. This has been teh case in Florida where black band disease and=
 white plague increased dramatically- but since we have not watched=
 individual colonies, we had no way of partitioning the mortality between=
 disease and bleaching. A simple wway to get lots of data is to shoot=
 repetetive underwater video transects looking down (plan view) between=
 known points of reference. If you do this carefully you will be able to=
 collect time series data on colonies "after the fact". But you must be=
 careful to video the same corals each time.  DIseases can kill corals in a=
 few days to weeks, death from bleaching can be faster, so you need to take=
 data at something like weekly intervals to resolve the differences. =
 Remember to shoot your video slowly and about 40 cm off the bottom for=
 optimal coverage vs spatial resolution

	Hope this helps, keep in touch.


				Phil




At 02:31 PM 3/2/01 -1100, Mary Power wrote:

>Talofa from Samoa

>

>In answer to your request we are now experiencing widespread bleaching here

>in Samoa - visual surveys of about 10 different sites show bleaching=
 ranging

>from 15% at  some to up to 90% at others. Acropora (formosa, hyacinthus

>mainly) Massive Porites and Millepora - depth range to about 10M. Started

>about end of January and ongoing - calm seas and clear skies for most of

>that time but now overcast and raining which may help. Difficult to assess

>level of mortality yet. Also signs of disease which precluded the signs of

>bleaching but that was only from one site. I will fill in reporting form on

>over the weekend with more details. Would like to hear whats happening

>elsewhere?

>

>Regards

>

>Mary

>	Original Message --------

>	> Subject: FIJI - Bleaching Alert

>	> Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 10:34:20 -0500

>	> From: "Alan E Strong" <<Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov>

>	> To: Coral-list <<coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>, Robyn Cumming

>	> <<cumming_r at usp.ac.fj>,Jerry Wellington <<wellington at UH.EDU>,Bruce

>Carlson

>	> <<carlson at soest.hawaii.edu>

>	> CC: "Dr. Marguerite Toscano" <<Marguerite.Toscano at noaa.gov>

>	>=20

>	> FIJI - POTENTIAL BLEACHING NOTICE:

>	>=20

>	>    http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/PSB/EPS/SST/dhw_news.html

>	>=20

>	> Now that we have gotten one week's worth of new, improved SSTs

>from our

>	> new polar orbiting satellite (NOAA-16), indications from our

>comparisons

>	> to SSTs expected at this time of year around Fiji are that

>bleaching may

>	> be underway.  SSTs (see link above) are nearly +1.5 deg C ABOVE

>the

>	> maximum expected during the warmest time of the year...what we

>have seen

>	> to date is even more elevated than what had occurred last year at

>this

>	> time when extensive bleaching was reported (mostly to the south).

>	>=20

>	> Confirmation info is sought...please use our reporting form:

>	>=20

>	>    http://psbsgi1.nesdis.noaa.gov:8080/PSB/EPS/icg/newform.html

>	>=20

>	> Regards,

>	> Al

>	>=20

>	> --

>	> **** <<><< ******* <<><< ******* <<><< ******* <<><< *******

>	> Alan E. Strong

>	> Phys Scientist/Oceanographer

>	>   NOAA/NESDIS/ORA/ORAD -- E/RA3

>	>   NOAA Science Center -- RM 711W

>	>   5200 Auth Road

>	>   Camp Springs, MD 20746-4304

>	>         Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov

>	>              301-763-8102 x170

>	>       FAX: 301-763-8108

>

>Mary Power

>Coastal Management Officer

>South Pacific Environment Program (SPREP)

>Apia, Samoa

>Ph (685) 21929	Fax: (685) 20231

>Email: MaryP at sprep.org.ws

>http://www.sprep.org.ws

>

>~~~~~~~

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>

>

PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS BELOW

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Phillip Dustan <smaller>	 </smaller>		=09

Department of Biology	=20

College of Charleston		         =20

Charleston SC 29424	=09

dustanp at cofc.edu

www.cofc.edu/~coral/corallab.htm

(843) 953-8086

(843)953-5453 Fax

~~~~~~~
For directions on subscribing and unsubscribing to coral-list or the
digests, please visit www.coral.noaa.gov, click on Popular on the
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