Madeleine J.H. van OppenAustralian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia and School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australiae-mail: madeleine.van@unimelb.edu.auJ.M. LoughAustralian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville MC, Queensland 4810, Australia and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland 4811, Australiae-mail: j.lough@aims.gov.au

• Introduction: Coral Bleaching – Patterns, Processes, Causes and Consequences.- The Evolution of the Coral-Algal Symbiosis and Coral Bleaching in the Geologic Past.- Coral Bleaching in Space and Time.- Climate Variability and Change: Monitoring Data and Evidence for Increased Coral Bleaching Stress.- Detecting and Monitoring Coral Bleaching Events.- Bleaching Resistance and the Role of Algal Endosymbionts.- How does the Coral Microbiome Cause, Respond to or Modulate the Bleaching Process?- Cell Biology of Coral Bleaching.- Bleaching and Mortality Thresholds: How Much is too Much?- Consequences of Coral Bleaching for Sessile Reef Organisms.- Effects of Coral Bleaching and Coral Loss on the Structure and Function of Reef Fish Assemblages.- Ocean Acidification and Coral Bleaching.- Future Scenarios: a Review of Modelling Efforts to Predict the Future of Coral Reefs in an Era of Climate Change.- Synthesis: Coral Bleaching – Patterns, Processes, Causes and Consequences.