Unprecedented coral bleaching in Southern Vietnam in 2024: The only hope for thermal refuges?
Tkachenko, K.S.; Dung, V.V.; Ha, V.T.; Phong, H.H. (2025). Unprecedented coral bleaching in Southern Vietnam in 2024: The only hope for thermal refuges? Coral Reefs 44(3): 881-894. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-025-02651-8
In: Coral Reefs. Springer: Berlin; Heidelberg; New York. ISSN 0722-4028; e-ISSN 1432-0975, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Tkachenko, K.S.
- Dung, V.V.
- Ha, V.T.
- Phong, H.H.
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| Abstract |
The coral reefs of Southern Vietnam did not escape the severe devastation caused by the Fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event of 2024. Coral surveys conducted in June and October 2024 using the photo-transect method within the water of the Con Dao Islands, a former spot of the richest coverage and diversity of reef-building corals in Vietnam, revealed the strongest coral bleaching and mortality on record. In June, there was bleaching throughout the entire vertical distribution of reef-building corals in this area, with a mean ± standard deviation (SD) bleaching of 97.5% ± 2.3% of the total coral cover at a depth of 2–5 m and 85.7% ± 7.4% at a depth of 10–12 m. Thermally susceptible Acroporidae—the leading coral family of the Con Dao Islands, representing > 60% of total coral cover on reef flats and upper reef slopes—was almost completely bleached (98.5%). In October, there was complete mortality of acroporids at the survey sites. In contrast, thermally resistant massive Porites did not show significant mortality, although its initial bleaching was high (94%). At the same time, the coral communities surveyed by the analogous method in June and July 2024 in Nha Trang Bay of South-Central Vietnam, where the sea surface temperature (SST) dynamics are influenced by the impact of the regional monsoonal upwelling, exhibited moderate bleaching (33.6% ± 20.5%) and extensive coral recovery 1.5 months after the onset of upwelling. The greatest bleaching prevalence in Nha Trang Bay was observed in foliose Montipora and Faviidae, followed by massive Porites and Acropora. Given the increasing frequency and severity of SST anomalies throughout the world, special attention should be paid to such areas and to their effective management aimed to enhance coral reef conservation and resilience. |
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