Prospects for Great Barrier Reef recovery are poor

Great Barrier Reef recovery unlikely after ‘catastrophi die-off’ caused by marine heatwaves, say scientists

‘The prospects for a full recovery to the pre-bleaching coral assemblages are poor’ according to the new study

the Independent,

18 April, 2018

The coral bleaching that struck the Great Barrier Reef has been described as the “longest, most widespread, and possibly the most damaging” on record.

“When corals bleach from a heatwave, they can either survive and regain their colour slowly as the temperature drops, or they can die,” said Professor Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, who led the study.

“Averaged across the whole Great Barrier Reef, we lost 30 per cent of the corals in the nine month period between March and November 2016.”

Bleaching is linked with global warming, as rising sea temperatures cause stressed corals to expel the algae that provide them with the energy they require to survive.

As these events are likely to continue, given current climate projections, scientists have called for “radical interventions” to help save the reefs.

Proposals under consideration include genetically engineered corals, geoengineering the atmosphere and even applying “sun shields” to the surface of the water to protect reefs from sunlight.

Some estimates have predicted that 90 per cent of the world’s corals could be dead by 2050.

The authors of the new study concluded that corals will continue to degrade until climate change stabilises. This will not only radically change reef ecosystems, but will harm the hundreds of millions of people – mainly in developing countries – who rely on coral reefs for their livelihoods.

“The Great Barrier Reef is certainly threatened by climate change, but it is not doomed if we deal very quickly with greenhouse gas emissions,” said Professor Hughes.

 “Our study shows that coral reefs are already shifting radically in response to unprecedented heatwaves