First observed severe mass bleaching in Malaysia, Greater Coral Triangle
Tan, C.H., and Heron, S.F (2011) First observed severe mass bleaching in Malaysia, Greater Coral Triangle. Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies, 13 (1). pp. 27-28.
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Abstract
[Extract] Malaysia contains approximately 4,000 km2 of reef (Wilkinson 2008) and an estimated 500 hermatypic coral species, which constitutes more than 60% of the worlds described hermatypic coral species (Veron et al. 2009). However, these reefs are exposed to numerous anthropogenic pressures and more than 40% are classified as having a high or very high Integrated Threat Index (Burke et al. 2002). Prior to 2010, severe and widespread coral bleaching had not been observed on Malaysian reefs, including during the 1997/98 global event when bleaching of Malaysian reefs was mild and occurred only in localized patches (Wilkinson 1998; Kushairi 1999).