NEW PUBLICATION:  Hot spots in hot waters: Spatial patterns of bleaching-related mortality within individual reefs

September 1, 2026

Dr. Karen Neely

Hot spots in hot waters: Spatial patterns of bleaching-related mortality within individual reefs

Coral mortality due to thermal events remains one of the biggest drivers of reef decline with susceptibility known to vary widely between reefs and even between indivual coral colonies. This study found that 

This study looks at fine scale spatial patterns in bleaching-related mortality within two individual Florida Keys patch reefs – Cheeca Rocks and Newfound Harbor - during the 2023 marine heatwave. By focusing on a single species at each reef and tracking hundreds of individual colonies through time, the authors identify areas within each reef where mortality was significantly more severe. Within those areas, they also identify surviving colonies that may be useful for future studies on resiliency. They also find that the spatial patterns in mortality at Newfound Harbor correlate with fine-scale temperature variation in subsequent years. They show that thermal stress even within 10s of meters varies dramatically; in 2025, degree heating weeks varied by 2, and the number of hours over 33.5°C varied by a factor of 2.6. This indicates that even at fine spatial scales, reef environments vary dramatically in their thermal regimes, and not all locations within a reef are equally suitable for restoration efforts or other management actions.