Coral health surveys completed between March 2010 and September 2012 quantified the response and resilience of approximately 42,000 coral colonies from different taxa to successive thermal bleaching events. The data was collected around Lord Howe Island following a fast phase transition from an El Niño to a La Niña event. Findings demonstrate significant shifts in reef assemblages and potential local extinction of some dominant reef-building corals.
Use Cases
- Model coral bleaching mortality rates based on taxa susceptibility mentioned in the description
- Analyze benthic community composition shifts based on changes from coral-dominated to macroalgae-dominated assemblages
- Assess coral recovery rates based on observations of pigmentation and color returning to surviving colonies
- Study the impact of successive thermal anomalies on high-latitude coral resilience
Strengths
- Approximately 42,000 coral colonies surveyed
- Surveys span a multi-year period from March 2010 to September 2012
- Specific bleaching percentages reported, ranging from 99% at shallow sites to 17% at deeper sites
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
- Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing solely on Lord Howe Island
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Coral health surveys quantifying response and resilience of coral colonies
- Time Range
- March 2010 to September 2012
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-05-05 00:12:49.706130; freshness should be verified
- Geography
- Lord Howe Island