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Hurricanes enhance coral connectivity but also superspread coral diseases
Dobbelaere, T.; Dekens, A.; Saint-Amand, A.; Alaerts, L.; Holstein, D.M.; Hanert, E. (2024). Hurricanes enhance coral connectivity but also superspread coral diseases. Glob. Chang. Biol. 30(6): e17382. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17382
In: Global Change Biology. Blackwell Publishers: Oxford. ISSN 1354-1013; e-ISSN 1365-2486, more
Peer reviewed article  

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Keyword
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    biophysical modeling, coral connectivity, Florida's Coral Reef, hurricanes, long-distance dispersal, stony coral tissue loss disease

Authors  Top 
  • Dobbelaere, T., more
  • Dekens, A.
  • Saint-Amand, A., more
  • Alaerts, L., more
  • Holstein, D.M.
  • Hanert, E., more

Abstract
    Climate change poses an existential threat to coral reefs. A warmer and more acidic ocean weakens coral ecosystems and increases the intensity of hurricanes. The wind–wave–current interactions during a hurricane deeply change the ocean circulation patterns and hence potentially affect the dispersal of coral larvae and coral disease agents. Here, we modeled the impact of major hurricane Irma (September 2017) on coral larval and stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) connectivity in Florida's Coral Reef. We coupled high-resolution coastal ocean circulation and wave models to simulate the dispersal of virtual coral larvae and disease agents between thousands of reefs. While being a brief event, our results suggest the passage of hurricane Irma strongly increased the probability of long-distance exchanges while reducing larval supply. It created new connections that could promote coral resilience but also probably accelerated the spread of SCTLD by about a month. As they become more intense, hurricanes' double-edged effect will become increasingly pronounced, contributing to increased variability in transport patterns and an accelerated rate of change within coral reef ecosystems.

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