Coral Recovery in the Central Mexican Pacific 20 Years after the 1997–1998 El Niño Event

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are increasing globally in both frequency and strength, and they can elicit coral bleaching events. The 1997–1998 ENSO caused mass coral mortality with a 96% decline in live coral cover along the Central Mexican Pacific. However, in recent years, these site...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oceans (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2022-03, Vol.3 (1), p.48-59
Main Authors: Martínez-Castillo, Violeta, Rodríguez-Troncoso, Alma Paola, Mayfield, Anderson B., Rodríguez-Zaragoza, Fabián Alejandro, Cupul-Magaña, Amílcar Leví
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coral bleaching
Coral reefs
ecological resilience
Ecosystems
El Nino
El Nino phenomena
El Niño–Southern Oscillation
environmental recovery
hermatypic corals
High temperature
ocean warming
Recovery
Southern Oscillation
Summer
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Summary:El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are increasing globally in both frequency and strength, and they can elicit coral bleaching events. The 1997–1998 ENSO caused mass coral mortality with a 96% decline in live coral cover along the Central Mexican Pacific. However, in recent years, these sites have shown signs of recovery. We used data collected in 1997 and 2015–2017 to evaluate the coral recovery in this region and coral cover levels have now reached 50% of their pre-1997–1998 El Niño values. Furthermore, a strong 2015–2016 ENSO event did not significantly affect the live coral cover, potentially demonstrating that the local corals have acclimatized or even adapted to higher temperatures. Even though branching species remain the most abundant morphotype, a PERMANOVA revealed significant changes in the coral assemblage. Collectively, this dataset is testament to the fact that corals within this region are capable of resisting or at least partially recovering from thermal anomalies caused by ENSO events.
ISSN:2673-1924
2673-1924
DOI:10.3390/oceans3010005