Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with .
Coral loss is the reality experienced by the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, known as the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr Manuel Gonzalez Rivero is the Acting Research Program Director for the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
It says further bleaching has been observed, caused mainly by heat stress caused by climate change – and not helped by tropical cyclones Kirrilly and Jasper last summer.
“The Great Barrier Reef also suffered the effect of two cyclones. In particular, tropical cyclone Jasper caused significant damage for two different reasons. The first is that cyclones generate waves higher than four meters and we found significant mechanical damage by these wave generators.” . But floods, freshwater floods that run off from cyclone-generated rainfall, also cost significant mortality.”
The Institute has released new data that confirm the extent of the damage.
Early surveys in north Queensland suggest coral cover has declined on 12 of 19 reefs between Lizard Island and Cardwell.
More than a third of coral cover has been lost in the Cooktown-Lizard Island sector, the largest annual decline for this sector in 39 years of monitoring.
In the Cairns sector, coral cover declined by just over a third across the five reefs, while in the Innisfail sector it remained similar across the four reefs surveyed.
Dr. Rivero says that for Lizard Island and other reefs, coral cover is known as a measure of reef health.
“It is not the only variable that represents coral reef health, but overall it indicates the amount of coverage or how much of the reef is covered by corals. Corals are one of the main engineers of the reef. Without corals, coral reefs They wouldn’t be. So, the more coral cover we see in the reef, it generally signals that it’s better.”
Dr Maya Srinivasan is a researcher at James Cook University and says the loss of coral cover can impact other life forms too.
“Many reef fish rely heavily on live coral, particularly branching coral, for shelter. Some species feed on live coral and so when you get a loss in coral cover, you also get a loss in fish numbers and probably of other types of organisms. that we are simply not counting them.”
A full assessment of the impact on coral cover on coral reefs will be available next year.
But in the wake of these latest findings, there are renewed calls from the government for better action on climate change to help secure the reef’s future.
Scott Heron holds the UNESCO Chair in Climate Vulnerability and Heritage.
“It’s really important to remember that our Great Barrier Reef is not just a natural wonder, it’s also a source of livelihood for tens of thousands of people. The first thing we need to do, and we need to do it very effectively, is respond to the causes of climate change, and that means reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”