Australia’s Great Barrier Reef experiences highest level of coral cover in decades 

Given a choice, which place of the world would you want to visit? While some may choose a natural refuge, others can opt for a place of adventure or historical significance. But what about an exotic location like the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia? After all, it’s one of the most amazing creations of nature. This massive coral reef system, the world’s largest, has been in the news recently and for good reason. The latest findings of a recent survey by the Australian Institute of Marine Science suggest that it now has a record level of coral cover in more than three decades.  

Is the Great Barrier Reef really growing? 
Yes and no, both! The survey revealed that the northern as well as the central part of the coral ecosystem now has the highest number of corals (36 per cent growth as compared to last year’s 27 per cent) vis-a-vis the last 36 years, when the survey had first started. This information came to the forefront after 87 sites were inspected. 

However, the report also reveals that the coral cover in the southern part has reduced in the last year. Why? Were you going to blame the climate change? Well, not just yet. As it turns out, this has happened largely because of an ongoing outbreak of crow-of-thorns species of starfish that preys on the corals.  

Climate change also has a role to play though! Millions of tiny coral polyps had an adverse reaction to the changing ecosystem, thanks to the rising water temperature. This, in turn, led to four episodes of mass bleaching in the last seven years, adding to the loss of corals in the southern region. This also means that the once vibrant colonies in the south are now losing the colours.  

What does this mixed report mean? 
Although the Great Barrier Reef has substantial hope of recovering and gaining more coral cover in the coming years, parts of it will also remain vulnerable due to acute and long-lasting effects of global warming, bleaching and other attacks on the coral ecosystem. Wait, we haven’t even gone to the most intriguing part yet. 

The new coral cover is largely the result of fast-growing, hard, weedy, branching corals called Acropora. But these corals are often vulnerable to ocean heating and wave damage, the ones caused by severe winds from tropical cyclones. Okay, so what does this mean for the Great Barrier Reef? Although things have started to look good in the northern and central sides, thanks to Acropora, there’s a high chance that they will soon cease to exist as and when there are disturbances on the reefs. This implies that climate threats need immediate global action.