[Coral-List] New Paper: Resilient corals in the Phoenix Islands

[Michael Fox]

Dear Austin,


Thanks for sharing your perspective. However, mid-ocean atoll systems are
not all dominated by *Acropora* in their natural state as you are
suggesting. Indeed, the assumption that they "should be" inevitably leads
to incorrect interpretations of ecosystem trajectory.


A history of benthic monitoring in the Phoenix Islands extending to the
late 1960s indicates *Acropora* was not the most dominant coral in at least
the last 60 years. Further, while we don't contest that bleaching has
reduced *Acropora* abundance in the area, these declines are not as
pervasive as you imply. At specific sites where we know *Acropora* to have
been locally dominant, it is recovering, rather than disappearing. Notably,
as of 2018 Kanton's lagoon reefs are composed primarily of table and
staghorn *Acropora*, which have recovered from almost complete mortality in
2002.


Kiribati is comprised of 33 islands across three unique archipelagos that
span nearly 3.5 million square kilometers of ocean. We think it is wrong to
assume that observations from Kiritimati over a narrow window of time can
be generalized to the rest of the reefs in Kiribati, some of which have
withstood and recovered from recurrent heatwaves over centuries.


The impact of the 2015-16 heatwave on reefs across the Pacific basin cannot
be overstated and is a warning of what we're facing today and in the
future. However, as the global coral reef community works to forestall
coral reef extinction, it is important to engage in thoughtful discussion
based on facts and accurate natural history. If some sites on coral reefs
are managing to keep pace with climate change, like those on Kanton Island
in PIPA, lets pay attention, identify the mechanisms by which this
resilience is conferred, and keep open minds. We have a lot still to learn.


All the best,

Mike