Great Barrier Reef News - SciTechDaily

Scientists Sound the Alarm: Record Ocean Heat Puts the Great Barrier Reef in Danger

University of Wollongong — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 00:09:16 +0000

The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing devastating coral bleaching due to the highest sea temperatures in 400 years, driven by human-induced climate change, with scientists calling for urgent global action. New research indicates the Great Barrier Reef is under critical pressure, with warming sea temperatures and mass coral bleaching events threatening to destroy the remarkable [...]

Diving Deep Into the Great Barrier Reef’s Hidden Climate Defense

University of Exeter — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 19:00:09 +0000

Researchers reveal that the Great Barrier Reef’s deeper areas are shielded from heatwaves, yet this protection is at risk if global warming persists, stressing the urgency to understand and manage coral reefs against climate change. Some deeper areas of the Great Barrier Reef are insulated from harmful heatwaves – but that protection will be lost [...]

Bleached Out: Heat Stress Cooks Great Barrier Reef

Emily Cassidy, NASA Earth Observatory — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 06:02:40 +0000

Weeks of warmer-than-average ocean temperatures caused extensive bleaching in the world’s largest coral reef system. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been hit by widespread coral bleaching caused by heat stress, government officials confirmed on March 8, 2024. This is the fifth mass bleaching of the reef since 2016. Aerial surveys of over 300 reefs conducted [...]

Nature’s Hidden Treasures: New Algae Species Rewrite Scientists’ Understanding of Reef Systems

Griffith University — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 04:04:59 +0000

A groundbreaking discovery has been made in the heart of the world-renowned Great Barrier Reef and unique reefs systems of the Coral Sea and Lord Howe Island, leading to a greater understanding of how the world heritage-listed landmark is protected. An international team of marine scientists, led by Griffith University, has identified and officially named [...]

Scientists Discover Hidden Threat to the Great Barrier Reef

Southern Cross University — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 02:55:36 +0000

Study finds nearly twice the amount of nitrogen is entering the Reef from groundwater compared to river waters. Scientists using natural tracers off Queensland’s coast have discovered the source of previously unquantified nitrogen and phosphorous having a profound environmental impact on the Great Barrier Reef. The findings, published today in Environmental Science and Technology, indicate [...]

Chlamydia-Like Bacteria Discovered in Great Barrier Reef

University of Melbourne — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 17:33:29 +0000

Scientists have recently discovered a Chlamydia-like bacteria in corals of the Great Barrier Reef. This discovery, published in the journal Science Advances, could provide crucial insights into the microbiome of corals and its possible implications on the health of coral reefs. The study was conducted by the University of Melbourne, in conjunction with the Australian [...]

Highest Coral Cover in Central, Northern Great Barrier Reef Since Monitoring Began 36 Years Ago

Australian Institute of Marine Science — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 18:09:33 +0000

This year the northern and central Great Barrier Reef have recorded their highest amount of coral cover since the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) began monitoring 36 years ago. Published recently, AIMS’ Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2021/22 shows another year of increased coral cover across much of the Reef. In [...]

Endangered Delicacy: Tropical Sea Cucumbers in Trouble – Critical for Healthy Ocean Ecosystems

University of Sydney — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 00:09:07 +0000

Sea cucumbers are critical for healthy ocean ecosystems. Researchers are calling for better protection of tropical sea cucumbers in the Great Barrier Reef whose numbers are dwindling due to persistent and increasing overharvesting. New research reveals that overharvesting has put the Great Barrier Reef’s tropical sea cucumber populations in peril, with strong demand for this [...]

Fish Predators Help Control Coral-Eating Crown-of-Thorns Starfish on Great Barrier Reef

Australian Institute of Marine Science — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 10:00:28 +0000

Reef fish, such as emperors, tropical snappers, and rockcods, help keep numbers of coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish in check on the Great Barrier Reef. Reef fish, such as emperors, tropical snappers, and rockcods, help keep numbers of crown-of-thorns starfish in check on the Great Barrier Reef, according to a new study from the Australian Institute of [...]

World’s Coral Reefs May Cease Calcifying Around 2054

Southern Cross University — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 15:00:44 +0000

Declining Growth Rates of Global Coral Reef Ecosystems If trend of declining coral growth continues at the current rate, the world’s coral reefs may cease calcifying around 2054. If the trend of declining coral growth continues at the current rate, the world’s coral reefs may cease calcifying around 2054, a new Southern Cross University study [...]

Injecting an Alkalinizing Agent Into the Ocean To Offset 10 Years’ Worth of Acidification of the Great Barrier Reef

IOP Publishing — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 08:00:19 +0000

New research has shown that by injecting an alkalinizing agent into the ocean along the length of the Great Barrier Reef, it would be possible, at the present rate of anthropogenic carbon emissions, to offset ten years’ worth of ocean acidification. The research, by CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Hobart, used a high-resolution model developed for [...]

Innovative Genetic Analysis Unlocks Clues to the Evolution and Survival of the Great Barrier Reef

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 19:47:19 +0000

In a ground-breaking new study, scientists used innovative molecular techniques to explain how corals on the east coast of Australia survived previous tough conditions—enabling the Great Barrier Reef to become the vast reef it is today. “We sequenced the genomes of 150 individual colonies of the same species of corals and used this to find [...]

“Treasure Trove” of New Coral Species Discovered Along the Great Barrier Reef

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies — Mon, 24 Feb 2020 11:36:54 +0000

Scientists discovered dozens of new coral species on a recent voyage along the length of the Great Barrier Reef. A team of scientists completed a 21-day trip from the Capricorn Bunkers off Gladstone to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait late last year. “On almost every dive we were finding species that aren’t in the [...]

New Study Reveals Dramatic Changes in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Bar-Ilan University — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 11:04:35 +0000

Marine biologist Prof. Maoz Fine: ‘Following in the footsteps of the pioneers of coral reef biology and ecology was an inspirational experience.’ Coral reefs around the world are under increasing stress due to a combination of local and global factors. As such, long-term investigation is becoming increasingly important to understanding ecosystem responses. A new study [...]

The Incredible Way Coral Helps Their Offspring Survive Climate Change [Video]

Gary Polakovic, University of Southern California — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 10:09:10 +0000

USC scientists discover coral equip their offspring with symbiotic algae colonies to help them cope with rising ocean temperatures. The fate of the world’s coral reefs could depend on how well the sea creatures equip their offspring to cope with climate change. About half the world’s coral has been lost due to warming seas that [...]

Mini-Lab Helps Predict Future Ocean Conditions

Rob Jordan, Stanford University — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:32:27 +0000

In an effort to better understand ocean acidification and the effects of climate change on coral reefs, an international team of scientists has created a mini-lab that can mimic the composition of the future ocean as climate change continues to alter Earth. Stanford researchers have helped open a new door of possibility in the high-stakes [...]

Black Band Disease Puts Great Barrier Reef at Risk

Max Planck Institute — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:34:20 +0000

The Great Barrier Reef is under attack by a disease and new data shows that the Black Band Disease can migrate at a rate fast enough to kill entire coral colonies and put the population size of many coral species at risk for drastic decline. Researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology along [...]