SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURE VARIABILITY IN PANAMA AND GALAPAGOS - EXTREMETEMPERATURES CAUSING CORAL BLEACHING

We examined associations between warm sea surface temperature (SST) an omalies and coral bleaching in the Galapagos Islands and the Gulf of P anama, in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Interannual SST variabil ity is dominated by the El Nino-Southern Oscillation phenomenon at Gal apagos, whereas only strong events have an SST signature in Panama. We explored various SST-related metrics potentially associated with blea ching occurrence: maximum absolute SST, SST anomaly, and the combined effect of intensity and duration of both SST anomalies (described via a ''degree days'' index) and high SST events. In Galapagos, three Nino years (1983, 1987, and 1992) coincided with bleaching. These were the top three years in both maximum annual SSTs and degree days values. I n Panama, bleaching in 1983 coincided with high maximum SSTs and high degree days. In contrast, no bleaching was detected in 1972 despite hi gh values of both quantities. We found all temperature-related metrics to be highly correlated, and it was impossible to isolate their effec ts.