Western Pacific Bleaching?

peter Houk p_houk at hotmail.com
Tue Jul 3 17:31:56 EDT 2001


Dear All,
   Thus far from Saipan we have recorded temperatures from 29 to almost 31 
degrees C.  However some of these stations are located in the Saipan Lagoon 
where extreme low tides common of this time of year may have influenced 
this.  Also, bleaching has been noted at several shallow water (5-10 ft. 
depth) locations within the Lagoon.  Surveys done at deeper (25-30 ft. 
depth) locations have shown very few bleached colonies.  The big concern 
thus far is the bleaching in the Saipan Lagoon and all of the tourist 
dive/snorkel sites there.  The corals that seem to be affected are Isopora 
palifera, encrusting Montipora spp., staghorn Acropora muricata (formosa) 
and A. pulchra.  Bleaching has also been noted in several massive corals but 
to a lesser extent.  Favia favus, Favia mathaii, Platygyra pini, and some 
others.  Thanks for the information,

Peter Houk
Marine Biologist
CNMI Division of Environmental Quality
Saipan, MP. 96950
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