Coral Bleaching in the Southern Seychelles During the 1997–1998 Indian Ocean Warm Event

Coral bleaching shows complex spatial-temporal dynamics at several scales. Recent developments in ocean surface remote sensing technologies allow for both a better appreciation of these dynamics and an opportunity to place more local studies of coral bleaching and bleaching-related coral mortality into wider oceanographic and biogeographic contexts. Coral bleaching is described at four coral reefs in the southern Seychelles (sea area 6–10°S 45–54°E) during March–May 1998. Bleaching intensity varied between locations, between environments at the within-reef scale, and between coral growth forms. These data are compared with bleaching reports and sea surface temperature statistics for eight further stations in the western Indian Ocean to establish a link between bleaching and the unprecedented warming of the Indian Ocean during 1997/98. Implications for long-term reef history, and coral reef futures, in the western Indian Ocean are discussed.