Great Barrier Reef bleaching worse than first feared
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CORAL bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is worse than first thought and scientists say the impact will accelerate unless global greenhouse gas emissions are cut.
The 2,300-kilometer World Heritage-listed reef suffered its most severe bleaching on record last year due to warming sea temperatures during March and April.
Aerial and in-water surveys showed 22 percent of shallow water corals were destroyed in 2016. It has increased to 29 percent this year with an unprecedented second straight year of bleaching predicted.
“We’re very concerned about what this means for the Great Barrier Reef itself and what it means for the communities and industries that depend on it,” Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chairman Russell Reichelt said.
“The amount of coral that died from bleaching in 2016 is up from our original estimates and, at this stage, although reports are still being finalized, it’s expected we’ll also see an overall further coral cover decline by the end of 2017.”
Bleaching, which occurs when abnormal conditions such as warmer sea temperatures cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their color, also extended to deeper corals beyond depths divers can typically survey.
The most impacted region was an area north of Port Douglas, where 70 percent of shallow water corals have died. Cairns and Townsville are the regions hardest-hit from the 2017 bleaching event, while southern parts have escaped the worst.
Corals can recover if the water temperature drops and the algae are able to recolonise them, but it can take a decade.
The reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish, with problems compounded by powerful cyclone pummelling the area. Reichelt said the storm hit a quarter of the reef but predictions for 2017 won’t be available until next year.
The GBRMPA hosted a summit last week of more than 70 of the world’s leading marine experts to work on a blueprint on how to respond to the threats.
Options explored included developing coral nurseries, the culling of crown-of-thorns starfish, expanding monitoring systems and identifying priority sites for coral restoration.
The need to slash greenhouse gas emissions to prevent warming sea temperatures is key.
The world’s nations agreed in Paris in 2015 to limit average warming to 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, by curbing fossil fuel burning.
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