[From nobody Mon Dec  3 09:42:09 2012
Message-ID: <35A52620.9CE@ccsg.tau.ac.il>
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 23:20:48 +0300
From: Maoz Fine <mfine@ccsg.tau.ac.il>
Reply-To: mfine@ccsg.tau.ac.il
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To: coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: bleaching of Oculina patagonica
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Bleaching of the coral Oculina patagonica!!!


Warming of seawater temperature along the Mediterranean coast of Israel
has resulted in a massive bleaching event of the coral Oculina
patagonica. 
Bleaching of O.patagonica was first recorded along the Israeli coast in
summer 1993 (Fine & Loya 1995) and explained by a bacterial infection to
which high water temperature was a contributing factor (Kushmaro et al.
1996, 1997).
Like every summer since 1993 we witness this year a high percentage of
bleaching (80-90% of the colonies). The recovery rate of bleached
colonies during winter months is usually high.
Further research concerning the mechanisms by which the pathogenic
bacteria affects the coral-algae symbiosis and its ecological role in
terms of reproduction and recruitment of this scleractinean  is now
conducted in Tel-Aviv University.

Maoz Fine
Tel Aviv University
Israel

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