Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination
Coral bleaching poses a severe threat to the health and survival of global coral reef ecosystems, with recent events surpassing historical heat stress records. To address this crisis, improved long-term monitoring, communication, and coordination are urgently required to enhance conservation, manage...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1547870/full |
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| author | Andrea Rivera-Sosa Aarón Israel Muñiz-Castillo Ben Charo Gregory P. Asner Chris M. Roelfsema Simon D. Donner Brianna D. Bambic Ana Gabriela Bonelli Ana Gabriela Bonelli Morgan Pomeroy Morgan Pomeroy Derek Manzello Paulina Martin Helen E. Fox |
| author_facet | Andrea Rivera-Sosa Aarón Israel Muñiz-Castillo Ben Charo Gregory P. Asner Chris M. Roelfsema Simon D. Donner Brianna D. Bambic Ana Gabriela Bonelli Ana Gabriela Bonelli Morgan Pomeroy Morgan Pomeroy Derek Manzello Paulina Martin Helen E. Fox |
| author_sort | Andrea Rivera-Sosa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coral bleaching poses a severe threat to the health and survival of global coral reef ecosystems, with recent events surpassing historical heat stress records. To address this crisis, improved long-term monitoring, communication, and coordination are urgently required to enhance conservation, management, and policy responses. This study reviews global coral bleaching survey methodologies and datasets spanning 1963 to 2022, identifying key challenges in methodological standardization, including database duplication and inconsistencies in naming and reporting bleaching metrics. These issues hinder comparative analyses and contribute to discrepancies in global bleaching impact assessments. We developed a typology of twenty-nine coral bleaching methods used across various scales, encompassing remote sensing tools, underwater surveys, and specimen collection. Analysis of 77,370 observations from three major datasets revealed that 9.36% of entries lacked methodological descriptions. Among recorded methods, belt transects (42%), line and point intercept transects (33%), and random surveys (17%) were the most widely applied. Practitioner surveys underscored the dominance of in situ transect and visual methods, highlighting the growing adoption of photo quadrats—an emerging yet underrepresented technique in existing datasets. To enhance global coral bleaching assessments, we propose a standardized framework that ensures open access and accessible data that aligns with decision-makers’ needs for efficient data aggregation and interoperability to better understand temporal and spatial bleaching events. A globally coordinated coalition should unify protocols, improve data-sharing capabilities, and empower regional networks through targeted training, incentives, and open communication channels. Strengthening field capacity in coral taxonomy and standardized survey methodologies, alongside integrating advanced tools, will improve data quality and comparability. Additionally, creating precise geolocated datasets will bridge on-the-ground observations with advanced remote sensing systems, refining the accuracy of satellite-based early warning tools. Establishing interoperable online platforms will further streamline data integration and accessibility, providing a robust foundation to support global responses to coral bleaching and foster impactful conservation initiatives. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-74820f17227f44abae2db6bfc062c8f0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-74820f17227f44abae2db6bfc062c8f02025-08-20T02:41:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452025-03-011210.3389/fmars.2025.15478701547870Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordinationAndrea Rivera-Sosa0Aarón Israel Muñiz-Castillo1Ben Charo2Gregory P. Asner3Chris M. Roelfsema4Simon D. Donner5Brianna D. Bambic6Ana Gabriela Bonelli7Ana Gabriela Bonelli8Morgan Pomeroy9Morgan Pomeroy10Derek Manzello11Paulina Martin12Helen E. Fox13Conservation Science, Coral Reef Alliance, San Francisco, CA, United StatesHealthy Reefs for Healthy People, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, MexicoConservation Science, Coral Reef Alliance, San Francisco, CA, United StatesCenter for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Hilo, HI, United StatesMarine Ecosystems Monitoring, The School Of The Environment, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaDepartment of Geography and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, CanadaResource & Ecosystem Management, McCall, ID, United StatesCenter for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Hilo, HI, United StatesDépartement de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, CanadaGlobal Sciences and Technology, Inc., Greenbelt, MD, United StatesU.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Coral Reef Watch, College Park, MD, United StatesU.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Coral Reef Watch, College Park, MD, United StatesCenter for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, Arizona State University, Hilo, HI, United StatesConservation Science, Coral Reef Alliance, San Francisco, CA, United StatesCoral bleaching poses a severe threat to the health and survival of global coral reef ecosystems, with recent events surpassing historical heat stress records. To address this crisis, improved long-term monitoring, communication, and coordination are urgently required to enhance conservation, management, and policy responses. This study reviews global coral bleaching survey methodologies and datasets spanning 1963 to 2022, identifying key challenges in methodological standardization, including database duplication and inconsistencies in naming and reporting bleaching metrics. These issues hinder comparative analyses and contribute to discrepancies in global bleaching impact assessments. We developed a typology of twenty-nine coral bleaching methods used across various scales, encompassing remote sensing tools, underwater surveys, and specimen collection. Analysis of 77,370 observations from three major datasets revealed that 9.36% of entries lacked methodological descriptions. Among recorded methods, belt transects (42%), line and point intercept transects (33%), and random surveys (17%) were the most widely applied. Practitioner surveys underscored the dominance of in situ transect and visual methods, highlighting the growing adoption of photo quadrats—an emerging yet underrepresented technique in existing datasets. To enhance global coral bleaching assessments, we propose a standardized framework that ensures open access and accessible data that aligns with decision-makers’ needs for efficient data aggregation and interoperability to better understand temporal and spatial bleaching events. A globally coordinated coalition should unify protocols, improve data-sharing capabilities, and empower regional networks through targeted training, incentives, and open communication channels. Strengthening field capacity in coral taxonomy and standardized survey methodologies, alongside integrating advanced tools, will improve data quality and comparability. Additionally, creating precise geolocated datasets will bridge on-the-ground observations with advanced remote sensing systems, refining the accuracy of satellite-based early warning tools. Establishing interoperable online platforms will further streamline data integration and accessibility, providing a robust foundation to support global responses to coral bleaching and foster impactful conservation initiatives.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1547870/fullcoral reefscoral bleaching surveysglobal bleaching reviewmarine heatwavesunderwater surveys |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Rivera-Sosa Aarón Israel Muñiz-Castillo Ben Charo Gregory P. Asner Chris M. Roelfsema Simon D. Donner Brianna D. Bambic Ana Gabriela Bonelli Ana Gabriela Bonelli Morgan Pomeroy Morgan Pomeroy Derek Manzello Paulina Martin Helen E. Fox Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination Frontiers in Marine Science coral reefs coral bleaching surveys global bleaching review marine heatwaves underwater surveys |
| title | Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination |
| title_full | Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination |
| title_fullStr | Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination |
| title_full_unstemmed | Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination |
| title_short | Six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring: a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination |
| title_sort | six decades of global coral bleaching monitoring a review of methods and call for enhanced standardization and coordination |
| topic | coral reefs coral bleaching surveys global bleaching review marine heatwaves underwater surveys |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2025.1547870/full |
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