Doom and Boom on a Resilient Reef: Climate Change, Algal Overgrowth and Coral Recovery
Figure 3
Coral recovery following algal overgrowth.
Branches of Acropora corals died after bleaching and were subsequently colonized by a variety of benthic algae. Remnant coral tissue at the base of the coral colonies regrew upward and deposited new skeleton along the old dead coral branch, overgrowing A) algal turfs (arrows), B) fleshy seaweed Lobophora variegata, and C) crustose coralline algae. D) Coral tissue has all but completely overgrown the colonizing algae. E) Thin section of coral showing benthic algae sandwiched between old coral skeleton and a thin layer of new skeleton. Examination using a compound microscope showed that coral tissue overgrew a range of algal types.