Coral coverage crashes after ‘unheard of’ heat events
The coral cover in the parts of the major barrier reef fell to a two -third of record high levels after a global mass bleaching event.
The tropical ecosystem, which did not match the heat on the coast of Queensland, experienced the sharpest decline in the hard coral prevalence in thirty years, and a 2024 increase in ocean temperatures was largely accused.
The latest research of the Australian Institute of Naval Sciences does not capture the latest bleaching event previously approved in 2025 and the latest bleaching activity that hit the ecosystems from the West Australian coastline.
The report of the report, Daniela Ceccarelli, was concerned about the increasing prevalence of bleaching events.
“These consecutive events haven’t been completely heard before, Dr Dr Ceccarelli said to AAP.
Considering the domination of acropora coral species “rapid growth and first gites”, the heat stress events were concerned rapidly.
When more space was given to expand, the rapidly growing varieties that could return quickly after a destructive event were largely responsible for the record -high coral coverage rates of the previous survey.
Dr Ceccarelli compared rapidly growing corals to herbs and shrubs that fired after a forest fire.
“And if you were going to fly, ‘beautiful and green, wonderful’,” he explained.
“But the trees are not there yet.”
Heat stress events, harder, slow -growing corals to get a support for a very often, Dr Ceccarelli such collision cycles and rapid healing cycles have become more common, he said.
“The question is that how long can this take before it reaches a low level where healing is not possible?
“We don’t know that, but he’s worried that we don’t take much time between heat waves anymore.”
Particularly sensitive to heat stress, corals, while water is very hot, expel the algae living in their tissues, causing the coral to turn completely white.
Coral can get rid of bleaching, but it is a sign of stress and can kill organisms if it is severe enough.
Cyclones and Thorn Crown starfish also contribute to the reef damage, but targets, climate change fuel ocean warming up 2024 coral coverage decrease in most of the decrease, he said.
The entire tropical ecosystem fell to the recorded coral coverage – a well -known indicator of internationally perceived reef health – but the decreases in the south were sharp.
The scope fell about one -third in the southern region, from 38.9 percent to 26.9 percent.
To the north of Cooktown, the coverage fell about a quarter.
In the central region, hard corals shrunk by 14 percent.
Even with these sharp decreases, when it comes from such a high base, the general scope is now circulating around the long -term averages.
Selina Stead, Chairman of the AIMS Executive Officer, said that the ocean warming caused by climate change clearly affects coral reefs.
“The future of coral reefs of the world is based on the reduction of powerful greenhouse gas emissions, the management of local and regional pressures, and the development of approaches to help the climate to get rid of the climate.” He said.
