Explained| The Great Barrier Reef’s recovery and vulnerability to climate threats

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained| The Great Barrier Reef’s recovery and vulnerability to climate threats” published in The Hindu on 7th August 2022.

What is the News?

According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science(AIMS) report, the highest levels of coral cover within the past 36 years have been recorded in the northern and central parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef(GBR).

What are Corals?

Corals are marine invertebrates or animals which do not possess a spine. They are the largest living structures on the planet.

Corals are of two types

Hard corals: They extract calcium carbonate from seawater to build hard, white coral exoskeletons. Hard corals are in a way the engineers of reef ecosystems and measuring the extent of hard coral is a widely-accepted metric for measuring the condition of coral reefs.

Soft corals: They attach themselves to hard skeletons and older skeletons built by their ancestors. Soft corals also add their own skeletons to the hard structure over the years. These growing multiplying structures gradually form coral reefs.

Importance of Corals: Coral reefs support over 25% of marine biodiversity even as they take up only 1% of the seafloor. The marine life supported by reefs further fuels global fishing industries. Besides, coral reef systems generate $2.7 trillion in annual economic value through goods and service trade and tourism. 

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What is Coral Bleaching?

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What is the Great Barrier Reef?

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest and longest coral reef system. It is located in Australia. 

It is a World Heritage Area since 1981 (the world’s first reef ecosystem to be recognised by UNESCO)

It is home to 400 types of coral, 1500 species of fish and 4000 types of molluscs. 

What does the report say about the Great Barrier Reef?

The highest levels of coral cover within the past 36 years have been recorded in the northern and central parts of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef(GBR). This is because,

1) Increase in the fast-growing Acropora corals, which are a dominant type in the GBR, 2) Low levels of acute stressors in the past 12 months such as no tropical cyclones and lesser heat stress in 2020 and 2022 as opposed to 2016 and 2017.

However, the report has warned that this could be quickly reversed owing to rising global temperatures.

Note: Great Barrier Reef experienced a mass coral bleaching event in March this year.