The results of the first surveys of bleached corals after a mass bleaching event show severe damage to a section of the Great Barrier Reef.
One-third of the corals died on a section of the Great Barrier Reef near Cooktown during the past summer’s mass bleaching event, according to the first scientific studies completed since a damaging marine heatwave hit the 2300-kilometre World Heritage listed ecosystem.
“The reefs around Lizard Island or the Northern Great Barrier Reef have lost over a third of the coral cover that was there prior to the summer,” said AIMS survey leader Mike Emslie.“The heat stress got so high in some areas that mortality is not a surprising outcome. The damage was more substantial on individual reefs in some cases and in the worst scenario, there was a 72 per cent decline on the pre-summer levels of coral.
“These initial surveys from AIMS are our worst fears from this year’s coral bleaching event being realised. It can’t get repeatedly hammered like this. We are fast approaching a tipping point.”Emslie said surveys are now being conducted on the southern section of the reef, which stretches from Gladstone north to Mackay.
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