Biology, New York University-Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Mar Environ Res. 2011 Oct;72(4):225-9. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2011.08.005. Epub 2011 Aug 18.
The southern Arabian Gulf houses some of the most thermally tolerant corals on earth, but severe bleaching in the late 1990s caused widespread mortality. More than a decade later, corals still dominated benthos (mean: 40 ± 3% cover on 10 sites spanning > 350 km; range: 11.0-65.6%), but coral communities varied spatially. Sites to the west generally had low species richness and coral cover (mean: 3.2 species per transect, 31% cover), with Porites dominated communities (88% of coral) that are distinct from more diverse and higher cover eastern sites (mean: 10.3 species per transect, 62% cover). These patterns reflect both the more extreme bleaching to the west in the late 1990s as well as the higher faviid dominated recruitment to the east in subsequent years. There has been limited recovery of the formerly dominant Acropora, which now represents <1% of the benthos, likely as a result of recruitment failure. Results indicate that severe bleaching can have substantial long-term impacts on coral communities, even in areas with corals tolerant to environmental extremes.
阿拉伯南部海湾拥有地球上一些最耐热的珊瑚，但在 20 世纪 90 年代末，严重的白化现象导致广泛的珊瑚死亡。十多年后，珊瑚仍然占据着海底生物（10 个跨越 350 多公里的地点的平均覆盖率为 40 ± 3%；范围：11.0-65.6%），但珊瑚群落存在空间差异。西部的地点通常物种丰富度和珊瑚覆盖率较低（每个样带平均 3.2 种，覆盖率 31%），以多孔螅属为主的群落（占珊瑚的 88%）与物种多样性更高、覆盖率更高的东部地点（每个样带平均 10.3 种，覆盖率 62%）不同。这些模式反映了 20 世纪 90 年代末西部更极端的白化现象，以及随后几年东部更高的扇珊瑚属主导的补充。以前占主导地位的鹿角珊瑚的恢复有限，现在仅占海底生物的<1%，这可能是由于补充失败。研究结果表明，即使在对环境极端耐受的地区，严重的白化现象也会对珊瑚群落产生重大的长期影响。
