[Coral-List] Re: ReRe: [CL] Palythoa bleaching

[James Reimer]

Dear Dr. Pecheux and Coral List members,

First off, the Burnett reference is:

Burnett WJ 2002. Longitudinal variation in algal symbionts (zooxanthellae) from the Indian Ocean zoanthid Palythoa caesia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 234: 105-109. Let me know if you need a pdf file...

As for these questions:
> I knew the question of Palythoa in intertidal. Does the colonies in pools at 40ーC bleach at same time of the others ???? For one side, they are bleaching at most, for the other they are in pools ? What is this story ?

As I said before, it is all anecdotal, just observations I have made while doing other work in the field... The colonies all seem to be much more susceptible to bleaching in summer (June-Sept) - but I have seen bleaching in Feb in 24C water. I imagine  temperarture (as usual) would play a key role, but I have also seen non-bleached dark brown colonies in hot tidepools too... Length of exposure to hot (30C plus) ocean wtaer would seem to be a key factor (like Degree Heating Week calculations perhaps). From m
y limited observations the bleaching is "patchy" and rather random, within colonies and areas.

As for recovery, I followed a handful of palythoa colonies that happened to be in transects I was checking monthly 2001-4, and although some of the Palythoa bleached, I saw no mortality. Again, anecdotal evidence at best, would have to  do some work on a larger scale to give you any kind of answer that would be scientifically valid. I would imagine Palythoa do undergo mortality in bleaching - would be interesting to hear about it.

Sorry for the lack of solid data - zoanthids aren't a hot topic evidently.

Cheers,

james

Martin P鹹heux wrote:
> Dear James, all,
> 
> Interesting.
> What is the reference of Burnett 02 ?
> I knew the question of Palythoa in intertidal. Does the colonies in pools at 40ーC bleach at same time of the others ???? For one side, they are bleaching at most, for the other they are in pools ? What is this story ? "Sentinels" as says Dustin Kemp ("sentinels" of the reefs "canaris in the coal mine" of Climate Change)
> Always recovering ? I did read nothing on Palythoa recovering. Important! Confirmation by others ?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dr. Martin P鹹heux
> Institut des Foraminif鑽es Symbiotiques
> (Jussieu, Universit? Paris VI)
> 16, rue de la Fontaine de l'Esp駻ance, 92160 Antony, France
> martin.pecheux at free.fr
> +33(0) 8711 804 32
> Publications at  www.reefbase.org in which Review on Reef Bleaching, 214p.
> 
> The 22 at 22:23 UT: Equinoxe! Moon in Ple?des, Mars at 11ー (c'est le Temps Universel. Pour la France, + 2 heures, ? 05/09/23 00:23)
> 
> XX % REDUCTION OF HUMAN CO2 SOURCES IN YEAR 20XX
> 
>
James Reimer
*********************************************************
JSPS Research Fellow
Research Program for Marine Biology and Ecology
Extremobiosphere Research Center
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
   (JAMSTEC)
Headquarters
2-15 Natsushima
Yokosuka, Kanagawa
JAPAN
Tel: ++81-46-867-9524
Fax: ++81-46-867-9525
e-mail: jreimer at jamstec.go.jp
URL: http://www.jamstec.go.jp/
*********************************************************