Vulnerability and Trade-Offs:While coral cover has increased,...

Vulnerability and Trade-Offs:

• While coral cover has increased, the new coral dominating the reef is primarily fast-growing branching coral called Acropora.
• Acropora corals recover quickly after disturbances but are vulnerable to storms, heatwaves, and crown-of-thorns starfish.

Great Barrier Reef Coral Recovery: The Great Barrier Reef, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia, has experienced significant coral bleaching due to rising sea temperatures caused by climate change. However, there’s some good news: recent reports show that coral cover in certain sections of the reef has reached record levels after mass-bleaching events¹.

Here are the key points:

1. Record-High Coral Cover:

   • The northern and central sections of the Great Barrier Reef have seen record-high coral cover.
   • Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have observed continued dramatic improvement in coral cover in these areas.
   • This recovery follows a period without intense disturbances, such as mass bleaching events.
   • • The percentage of coral cover in the northern section increased from 27% to 36%, and in the central section, it increased from 26% to 33%.
     • These results demonstrate that the reef can still recover during periods free of intense disturbances.