Elucidating Temporal Patterns in Coral Health and Assemblage Structure in Papahānaumokuākea

A significant shift in coral colony composition was detected in Papahānaumokuākea, the largest contiguous fully protected marine conservation area in the United States, following a mass coral bleaching event in 2014 and Hurricane Walaka in 2018. The study, which analyzed long-term monitoring data from 20 permanent sites at three islands/atolls (Lalo, Kapou, and Manawai) between 2014 and 2021, found that coral assemblages transitioned from the Montipora dilatata/flabellata/turgescens complex to M. capitata dominance in multiple sites, particularly at Kapou and one site at Manawai. Despite being dominant before the bleaching event, the M. dilatata/flabellata/turgescens complex has not been recorded in recent years. The research also revealed that coral genera exhibited different sensitivities to conditions such as bleaching, predation, subacute tissue loss, Porites pigmentation response, and trematodiasis. These findings underscore the importance of continued species-level monitoring across diverse coral assemblage compositions and habitat types in Papahānaumokuākea.

Fukunaga, A., Pascoe, K. H., Kosaki, R. K., & Burns, J. H. R. (2024). Elucidating Temporal Patterns in Coral Health and Assemblage Structure in Papahānaumokuākea. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 12(8), 1267. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12081267