Status of Caribbean coral reefs after bleaching and hurricanes in 2005

9. Th e Effects o f Co r a l Bl e a c h i n g in So u t h e r nTr o p i c a l Am e r ic a : Br a z i l, Co l o m b i a, a n d VenezuelaAl b e rto Ro d r í g u e z-Ra m í r e z, Ca ro l i n a Ba s t i da s, Se ba s t i á n Ro d r í g u e z,Ze l i n da Le ã o, Ru y Ki k u c h i, Marília Oliveira, Di e g o Gil, Ja im eGa r z ó n-Fe r r e i r a, Ma r í a Cata l i n a Reyes-Nivia, Ra ú l Nava s -Ca m a c h o ,Na d i e zh da Sa n to d o m i n g o, Guillermo Dí a z-Pu l i d o, Dag o b e rtoVenera-Po n to n, Le n i n Fl o r e z-Le i va, Al e ja n d ro Ra n g e l-Ca m p o , Ca r l o sOroz c o, Ju a n Ca r l o s Má r q u e z, Sv e n Zea, Mat e o Ló p e z-Victoria, Ju a nAr m a n d o Sá n c h e z a n d Ma r i a Cl a r a Hu rta d o.Su m m a r yzx Massive coral bleaching occurred in Southern Tropical America during unusuallyhigh sea surface temperatures in 2005. The timing of bleaching varied throughout theregion.zx Surveys at 156 sites in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela show that 2005 was the region’smost severe bleaching year, with most bleaching in shallow zones, but the severityvaried considerably.zx In Brazil, bleaching started at Itacolomis Reefs in April 2005, after the southernsummer.zx In Colombia, reefs at Santa Marta started bleaching 6 months later in October, after thenorthern summer.zx In Venezuela, the peak bleaching intensity was in November-December 2005, two monthslater than in the west and north Caribbean. It affected up to 25% of coral colonies butvaried greatly among surveyed sites, from 0 to 100%.zx Bleaching was observed in several coral species but only a few, such as Acroporacervicornis, A. palmata, and Diploria labyrinthiformis, suffered mortality.zx Coral reefs less affected by bleaching seem to be related to upwelling zones in theCaribbean.105