The hard coral cover has been in an upward trend which is great news, however it is worth noting that this recovery is primarily driven by tabulate acropora coral which grow very quickly as well as look pretty stunning, although they are a favorite food for COTS, and are more prone to storms as well as bleaching than other morphologies.
So while the hard coral cover has increased quickly, it can also drop very suddenly a lot easier than if it were more diverse.
