========================= Bleaching Report =========================== ************************************************************************ ********************** Bleaching in Palmyra ************************** ************************************************************************ Report from: Chris Depkin USFWS Palmyra Atoll NWR Date: 20 September 2002 "I was able to spend about an hour today snorkeling in the Penguin spit area (south of Sand Island). From my limited experience with identifying specific signs of coral bleaching I would say that, yes, there were a "few" spots that were suspiciously pale. Affected species groups were the Acropora (one small colony completely pale yellow), Fungia (normally seen with some magenta, those seen were the same color as the pale Acropora) and one of the plate corals (normally purple these were seen as colorless and pale to light purple to pale green). "What I observed were a very few individuals/colonies that were either completely or partially pale (whitish to buff or yellow). Not wide spread at all." ======================================================================== NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Project NOAA/NESDIS 23 September 2002