Fig. 4.

Changes in the symbiont community structure in Stylophora pistillata based on random versus repeated sampling methodologies. (A) Random assessments of postbleaching community structure do not account for symbiont-specific colony mortality and subsequently show a marked change in the relative proportions of symbionts present on the reef. (B) Repeated sampling highlights the importance of symbiont-specific differential colony mortality as a result of bleaching. The hatched lines represent the relative abundance of dead colonies within each symbiont type. Comparing mechanisms of path A versus B highlights that shifts in the symbiont community are driven by differential mortality as opposed to sustained changes in symbiont types of individual colonies.