Ocean currents magnify upwelling and deliver nutritional subsidies to reef-building corals during El Niño heatwaves.

Autor: Fox MD; Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.; Marine Science Program, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.; Red Sea Research Center, KAUST, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia., Guillaume-Castel R; LEGOS, Université de Toulouse, CNES, CNRS, Toulouse, France.; School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK., Edwards CB; Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA., Glanz J; Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA., Gove JM; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI, USA., Green JAM; School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK., Juhlin E; Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA., Smith JE; Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA., Williams GJ; School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Anglesey LL59 5AB, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Science advances [Sci Adv] 2023 Jun 16; Vol. 9 (24), pp. eadd5032. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jun 14.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add5032
Abstrakt: Marine heatwaves are triggering coral bleaching events and devastating coral populations globally, highlighting the need to identify processes promoting coral survival. Here, we show that acceleration of a major ocean current and shallowing of the surface mixed layer enhanced localized upwelling on a central Pacific coral reef during the three strongest El Niño-associated marine heatwaves of the past half century. These conditions mitigated regional declines in primary production and bolstered local supply of nutritional resources to corals during a bleaching event. The reefs subsequently suffered limited post-bleaching coral mortality. Our results reveal how large-scale ocean-climate interactions affect reef ecosystems thousands of kilometers away and provide a valuable framework for identifying reefs that may benefit from such biophysical linkages during future bleaching events.
Databáze: MEDLINE