Temperature Regimes Impact Coral Assemblages along Environmental Gradients on Lagoonal Reefs in Belize

Coral reefs exposed to higher temperature regimes exhibit significantly lower species richness, abundance, diversity, density, and percent cover compared to those in moderate or low-temperature zones. This pattern was observed across lagoonal reefs in the Belize Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), where thermal stress—measured as days exceeding bleaching thresholds—was a stronger determinant of coral community structure than productivity. High-temperature sites were dominated by hardy, stress-tolerant, and fast-growing coral species, suggesting these life history traits may confer resilience to warming oceans. The study used ultra-high-resolution satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) data over a decade to classify reefs into low, moderate, and high thermal exposure categories, alongside 13 years of Chlorophyll-a data as a productivity proxy.

Baumann, J. H., Townsend, J. E., Courtney, T. A., Aichelman, H. E., Davies, S. W., Lima, F. P., & Castillo, K. D. (2016). Temperature Regimes Impact Coral Assemblages along Environmental Gradients on Lagoonal Reefs in Belize. Plos One, 11(9), e0162098. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0162098