Bleaching in mangrove corals

Roughly half of coral species inhabiting Caribbean reefs also inhabit mangroves. Two alternative hypotheses suggest mangroves could promote coral survival under climate change: mangroves may serve as an "ecological refuge" for corals from heat extremes, or variable mangrove environments may select for resilience in corals to future perturbations. Both hypotheses presume different conditions in mangroves versus reefs and imply mangrove corals experience less heat-induced bleaching than reef conspecifics. Observations made during longitudinal monitoring of corals inhabiting mangrove prop roots in Belize suggest (1) bleaching is rarer in mangrove corals than in reef corals, and (2) bleaching in mangroves and bleaching in reefs may be driven by different environmental stressors.