ME014
The Impacts of the 4th Global Coral Bleaching Event (2018–Present) on Coral Reef Ecosystems
Session ID#: 256314
Session Description:
NOAA announced the fourth global bleaching event (GCBE4) in April 2024, as mass coral bleaching was confirmed in all three ocean basins. Further study revealed that GCBE4 most likely began in August 2018, although went unnoticed due to relatively few reports during COVID-19 lockdowns throughout 2020–2022. From 13 August 2018–1 March 2025, 86.4% of the world's coral reefs experienced bleaching-level heat stress, making this event the most spatially expansive on record. Significant bleaching has been directly observed in at least 83 countries/territories over this period; however, based on extreme satellite-based heat accumulation patterns, it’s likely that bleaching has impacted up to 97 of the 101 reef-containing countries across the globe.
In this session, we welcome multidisciplinary contributions that investigate, analyze, model, or otherwise explore the impacts of GCBE4 on coral reef ecosystems over recent and geological time scales. Presentations that highlight bleaching prevalence/severity and resultant mortality across coral communities, sites, and regions are encouraged. Further, presentations that document intra- and inter-colony/species patterns in bleaching, strive to understand how prior experience alters subsequent response to thermal stress, and describe local species extinctions are invited. We hope to gain a better understanding of the consequences of GCBE4 across the world’s coral reefs.
Co-Sponsor(s):
Index Terms:
1630 Impacts of global change [GLOBAL CHANGE]
3360 Remote sensing [ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES]
4220 Coral reef systems [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL]
4872 Symbiosis [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL]
Student/Early Career Chair: Morgan Pomeroy, NOAA Coral Reef Watch - Global Sciences and Technology, Inc (GST), Silver Spring, United States
Primary Chair: Kristen Taylor Brown, NOAA Coral Reef Watch - Global Sciences and Technology, Inc (GST), Silver Spring, United States
Co-chairs: Gang Liu, NOAA Coral Reef Watch-UMD_CICS, College Park, United States, Blake Spady, NOAA Coral Reef Watch - Global Science & Technology, Inc., Townsville, QLD, Australia and Derek Manzello, NOAA/NESDIS, Center for Satellite Applications and Research/Coral Reef Watch, College Park, United States
Upwelling Environments as Potential Thermal Refugia for Coral Reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (1860177)
Kayla Cayemitte, Rutgers University New Brunswick, Marine and Coastal Sciences, New Brunswick, United States, Dar Golomb, University of Haifa, Leon H.Charney School of Marine Sciences, Haifa, Israel, Grace Saba, Rutgers University, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, New Brunswick, United States, Lori M Garzio, Rutgers Unversity, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences, New Brunswick, NJ, United States, Clinton Haldeman, Rutgers University New Brunswick, Marine and Costal Sciences, New Brunswick, United States, Tali Mass, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel, Fiorella Prada, Rutgers University, Piscataway, United States and Local Coral Restoration Team of Proyecto Corales Sámara
Alleviation of warming impacts by chronic organic nutrient enrichment from seabird guano and wastewater on coral photosynthesis and respiration (2004838)
Shannon Cranston1,2, Andrea J Jani2, Craig E Nelson3, Nyssa Silbiger4, Megan Donahue5 and Jessica Glazner6, (1)UNITED STATES, (2)University of Hawaii at Manoa, Oceanography, Honolulu, United States, (3)University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI, United States, (4)University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Uehiro Center for the Advancement of Oceanography, Department of Oceanography, Honolulu, HI, United States, (5)University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology, Kane‘ohe, HI, United States, (6)University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Honolulu, United States
Benthic community in select West Philippine Sea Reefs during the 2024 global mass coral bleaching event (2007405)
Rhea Mae Luciano1,2, Lowell Jay Tupaz1, Rachel Francisco1, Charina Lyn A Repollo1, Miguel Enrique Ma. A. Azcuna3 and Maria Vanessa Baria Rodriguez1,2, (1)Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, (2)Bolinao Marine Laboratory, University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines, (3)Verde Island Passage Center for Oceanographic Research and Aquatic Life Sciences, Batangas State University, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines
Winter Is Not Coming : Simulating Heat Stress on Florida's Coral Reef During GCBE4 (2008178)
Louis Rycx1, Thomas Doebblaere2, Colin Scherpereel1, Heidi Hirsh3, Jonathan Lambrechts4 and Emmanuel Hanert1, (1)Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, (2)Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, (3)University of San Diego, Department of Environmental and Ocean Sciences, San Diego, CA, United States, (4)Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Longer, higher, broader – multidimensional record-breaking 2025 heat stress on Western Australia’s coral reefs (2009357)
Scott Heron1, Blake Spady2, Jessica Benthuysen3, James Gilmour3, Camille Grimaldi3, Derek Manzello4, Nicole Ryan3, Claire M Spillman5 and the Western Australian Coral Bleaching Group, (1)James Cook University, Physical Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, Townsville, QLD, Australia, (2)NOAA Coral Reef Watch - Global Science & Technology, Inc., Townsville, QLD, Australia, (3)Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia, (4)NOAA/NESDIS, Center for Satellite Applications and Research/Coral Reef Watch, College Park, United States, (5)Bureau of Meteorology, Docklands, VIC, Australia
Spatial heterogeneity of coral bleaching impacts in the Maldives during the fourth Global Event (2011259)
Monica Montefalcone1, Carlo Nike Bianchi Prof2, Carla Morri Porf2, Hassan Ahmed Sr3 and Irene Pancrazi3, (1)University of Genoa, DiSTAV, Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences, Genova, Italy, (2)Genoa Marine Centre (GMC), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology (EMI), Genoa, Italy, (3)Save the Beach Maldives, Villimalé, Maldives
Impacts of sedimentation on coral health and reef ecosystems (2017051)
Md. Simul Bhuyan, Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Diponkor Adikari, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh and Maroua Jenzri, Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia
Physiological and microbial characteristics of diverse coral species reveal habitat-specific resilience linked to thermal variability (2028020)
Marcelina Martynek1, Kristen T Brown2, Benjamin H. Glass3, Jesse B. Van Doren1, Henry W. Zabierek1 and Katie Barott1, (1)University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biology, Philadelphia, United States, (2)Global Science and Technology, Greenbelt, United States, (3)Boston University, Department of Biology, Boston, United States
Unpacking coral thermal resilience trends across different habitats within a coral atoll (2028476)
Wenzel Pinto1, Mayukh Dey2, Sidharth Sankaran3 and Rohan Arthur2, (1)Nature Conservation Foundation, Oceans and Coasts, Mysuru, India, (2)Nature Conservation Foundation, Oceans and Coasts, Bengaluru, India, (3)Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India
Increased Land-based Nutrients and Suspended Solids help Ameliorate Coral Bleaching but Exacerbate Coral Disease During Florida's 2023 Thermal Stress Event (2029046)
Brian Walker, National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, United States, Gareth J Williams, Bangor University, School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor, United Kingdom, Emmanuel Hanert, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, Thomas Doebblaere, Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, David Whitall, NOAA-NCCOS, Stressor Detection and Impacts Division, Silver Spring, MD, United States, Greta Aeby, Smithsonian Marine Station, Fort Pierce, United States and Jeffrey A Maynard, SymbioSeas, Carolina Beach, United States
Corals change structural lipid profiles in response to an extreme marine heat wave in the central Red Sea in 2024 (2029527)
Lauren Zane1, Michael D. Fox2, Connor Love3, Patricia Lopez Sanchez4, Adrian Schwarzenberg4, Walter Rich2 and Kelton McMahon3, (1)University of Rhode Island, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Kingston, United States, (2)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Marine Science Program, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, (3)University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, United States, (4)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Analytical Chemistry Core Lab, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Subsurface Temperature Dynamics Drive Spatial Patterns of Coral Bleaching and Mortality During the 2024 Bleaching Event in the Central Red Sea (2035430)
Walter Rich1, Robin Guillaume-Castel2, Jessica Glanz1, David Atienza3 and Michael D. Fox1, (1)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Marine Science Program, Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, (2)University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, (3)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab (CMR), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
The 2024 Heatwave Drives the Largest Known Population of Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) in Barbados to the Brink of Extirpation (2036863)
Henri Vallѐs1, Kristen Clarke2, Annabel Cox1, Robert Bourne1 and Julian Walcott2, (1)The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, St Michael, Barbados, (2)The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies, St Michael, Barbados
Impact of global coral bleaching events (GCBE) on coral reefs around Zanzibar, Tanzania (2040473)
Eylem Elma1, Jean-Baptiste Jouffray2,3, Saleh A.S. Yahya4, Martin Gullström5 and Magnus Nyström3, (1)University of Oxford, Department of Biology, Oxford, United Kingdom, (2)Stanford University, Stanford Center for Ocean Solution, Stanford, United States, (3)Stockholm University, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm, Sweden, (4)University of Dar es Salaam, Institute of Marine Sciences, Zanzibar, Tanzania, (5)Södertörn University, School of Natural Sciences, Technology and Environmental Studies, Huddinge, Sweden
Mass mortality of Millepora alcicornis and Atlantia caboverdiana in marginal coral reef (Cabo Verde, East Atlantic Ocean) (2042288)
Nuria Viladrich1, Andrea Gori1, Daniel Gómez-Gras2, Jean-Baptiste Ledoux3, Teresa Amaro4, Cassandra Pacheco5, Ana Maria Martins6 and Cristina Linares1, (1)University of Barcelona, Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Barcelona, Spain, (2)University of Barcelona, Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Barcelona, Spain, (3)Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Porto, Portugal, (4)Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal, (5)Atlantic International Research Centre (AIR Centre), Lisbon, Portugal, (6)Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
