2020 Keppel Islands Reproduction and Variable Bleaching Response Study

Data sets were used to analyze the effects of the 2020 bleaching event on the fitness of a tracked coral population in the Keppel Islands 6 months after the height of bleaching and following population recovery.

Data containing demographic and bleaching response information from tagged colonies of A. millepora at 4 locations (Page et al. 2023). 350 colonies from Great Keppel, North Keppel, Pumpkin, and Halfway islands tagged in April of 2020 and resurveyed in October of 2020.

Data was collected from laboratory dissections of samples collected in Oct 2020, information was gathered on egg size, egg number, sterile zone size, and percent fecundity of sampled polyps. 

Data from samples collected in 2019 prior to bleaching, information was gathered on egg size, egg number, sterile zone size, and percent fecundity of sampled polyps. 

Data was analyzed using statistical analyses (glm, glmm) in order to identifty any fecundity impacts to the population as a result of colony bleaching response, and a historical comparison was made to data collected by Tan et al. 2016 with approval from the authors. 

This study examined the following parameters:

Bleaching Score following the CoralWatch Coral Health Chart method (Siebeck et al. 2016)

Reproductive metrics of A. millepora populations through time (2009, 2010, Tan et al. 2016) 2019, 2020)

Photos from dissections (available upon request)

Coral health assessments (tagged colonies Page et al. 2023

Photos of Tagged Colonies (available upon request)