[Coral-List] Coral bleaching in the western coast of Mexico

Hector Reyes hreyes at uabcs.mx
Thu May 15 14:45:04 EDT 2008


yes; actually this is the coldest year in the southern gulf of california,
at least in the last decade (a combination of an anti-ENSO and the change
in the pacific decadal oscillation). it is interesting that in many areas
of west mexico the temperature is NOT monotonically increasing but instead
we are noticing a higher yearly interval, even in areas where SST average
is practically the same since the 1980 (Huatulco; 16°N). on the other
hanbd, cold-water bleaching has occurred two years in a row in baja.
that´s why we are worried.. maybe we are simplifying the effects of global
change and only looking at one side of the equation. what about start
thinking about "degree freezing weeks"?

H./


> Hi Hector,
>
> What you have witnessed near the mouth of the Sea of Cortes during the
> Feb-March interval we feel is almost certainly bleaching as a result of
> unusually COLD water!! Yes, bleaching has been observed from cold water
> during the later winter months [note: Hoegh-Guldberg et al., Limnol.
> Oceanogr., 50(1): 265– 2005, "Coral bleaching following wintry weather"].
>
> Was this one of your coolest winters of late??
>
> Cheers,
> Al Strong
>
> Hector Reyes said the following on 5/8/2008 11:59 AM:
>> Dear coral listers, a news flash. From february to april we have
>> witnessed
>> a very strong bleaching in the entire southern region of the gulf of
>> california and adjacent waters (from 25N to 20N). Pocilloporid corals
>> are
>> very damaged, and total coral mortality in some areas surpasses 50%;
>> this
>> figure is higher than the one we reported in 1997-98 for the same
>> region,
>> after the ENSO. Has anyone else in the western coast of the Americas has
>> noticed something similar? Gracias.
>>
>> Hector Reyes
>> UABCS, La Paz
>>
>>
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> During research on thermal coral bleaching in the western pacific warm
>>> pool,
>>> I noticed that observations of coral bleaching in that region are very
>>> limited in the reefbase.org database. I would like to know if anyone
>>> knows
>>> of any bleaching episodes not recorded in that database.
>>>
>>> You can see the location of the warm pool here:
>>> http://roskilde.eas.purdue.edu/~ruben/wpwp.jpg
>>>
>>> If you know of any observations of bleaching in that region, please to
>>> submit your data on the form that can be found here:
>>> http://roskilde.eas.purdue.edu/~ruben/bleaching_in_WPWP.php
>>>
>>> Thank you very much for your help, and if you have any questions or
>>> remarks
>>> please ask me directly,
>>>
>>> Ruben van Hooidonk
>>> Purdue University
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Coral-List mailing list
>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> **** <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< ******* <>< *******
> Alan E. Strong, Ph.D.
> NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Senior Consultant
> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
> NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
>   e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov
> URL: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
>
> E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5305
> 1335 East West Hwy
> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226
> 301-713-2857 x108               Fax: 301-713-3136
> Cell: 410-490-6602
>
>


-- 
Héctor Reyes Bonilla
Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur
Departamento de Biología Marina
Apartado postal 19-B, CP 23080. La Paz, B.C.S.
MEXICO




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