Bleaching in scleractinians, hydrocorals, and octocorals during thermal stress in a northeastern Brazilian reef

Occurrence of bleaching in scleractinian corals, a hydrocoral, and an octocoral species was observed in a reef community of Paraiba coast, northeastern Brazil, during an unusual thermal stress that occurred in March 2010. Four scleractinian species (Siderastrea stellata, Porites astreoides, Agaricia agaricites, and Mussismilia harttii) and one hydrocoral (Millepora alcicornis) were affected. Some bleached colonies of the gorgonian Plexaurella grandiflora were clearly dead. Other scleractinian and octocoral species in the area did not bleach, suggesting that susceptibility to bleaching differs among species. Four years after the bleaching event, most of the affected colonies had survived, while many diseased ones showed macroalgal overgrowth. A monitoring programme is needed to document and understand the short- and long-term effects of future bleaching on the endemic Brazilian coral fauna.