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Marine biologist Anne Hoggett snorkels to inspect and record bleached and dead coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef – Copyright AFP\/File John MACDOUGALL, Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nLaura CHUNG<\/em><\/p>\nAustralia\u2019s famed\u00a0Great Barrier Reef is suffering one of the most severe coral bleaching events on record, leaving scientists fearful for its survival\u00a0as the impact of climate change worsens.<\/p>\n
For 33 years marine biologist Anne Hoggett has lived and worked on Lizard Island, a small slice of tropical paradise off Australia\u2019s northeast tip.<\/p>\n
She affectionally dubs it \u201cBlizzard Island\u201d. The only relief from the wind and teeming showers is in the powder blue waters, where sea turtles and tiger sharks rove along the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n
As Hoggett snorkels, schools of fish swim gracefully, feeding on the coral or darting between it. Some are as small as her little finger, others the colour of fire.<\/p>\n
But thanks to climate change, it is becoming a watery graveyard of bleached reef.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet if they\u2019ve already sustained too much damage to recover or not,\u201d said Hoggett.<\/p>\n
The world is currently experiencing its second major coral bleaching event in 10 years, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday.<\/p>\n
Coral bleaching occurs when water temperatures rise more than one degree Celsius (33.8 degrees Fahrenheit).<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the world\u2019s oceans continue to warm, coral bleaching is becoming more frequent and severe,\u201d said NOAA\u2019s Derek Manzello.<\/p>\n
In a bid to survive, the coral expels microscopic algae, known as zooxanthellae, which it needs to live.<\/p>\n
If high temperatures persist, the coral eventually evicts most of the zooxanthellae, turns white, and dies.<\/p>\n
Since February, ocean temperatures around Lizard Island have been up to two degrees Celsius warmer than the average.<\/p>\n
Hoggett estimates about 80 percent of the coral is already dead.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Just about everything died\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Often dubbed the world\u2019s largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef\u00a0is a 2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) long expanse housing a stunning array of biodiversity, including more than 600 types of coral and 1,625 fish species.<\/p>\n
It is vital to the health of the ocean and Australia\u2019s tourism industry, netting billions of dollars every year.<\/p>\n
But repeated mass bleaching events have robbed the reef of its wonder, turning banks of once-vibrant corals to a sickly ashen white.<\/p>\n
In March, Australian reef authorities announced another mass bleaching event was underway, the fifth in eight years.<\/p>\n
Through aerial monitoring, they found\u00a0more than 600 reefs have experienced bleaching.<\/p>\n
Ten percent of the area is classed as suffering extreme bleaching, when more than 90 percent of corals are distressed and unlikely to survive.<\/p>\n
Just nine weeks ago, the reef off\u00a0Lizard Island was healthy and vibrant, Hoggett said.<\/p>\n
Now,\u00a0she points to the fluorescent pink and blue coral. Despite its initial beauty, that means the coral is highly stressed and expelling the healthy algae it needs to survive.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, white coral is covered in a fluffy, brown algae \u2014 a sign it is dead.<\/p>\n
When Hoggett first arrived on the island three decades ago, bleaching would occur every 10 years or so. Now, it is happening every year.<\/p>\n
Mass bleaching events along the reef occurred\u00a0in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and now 2024.<\/p>\n
She is heartbroken.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only time we\u2019ve seen bleaching this bad was in 2016, when just about everything died,\u201d Hoggett told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess as to how many of these corals that are still alive now will be able to survive and recover.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Too small in scale\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
While reefs can recover from bleaching, the window of recovery between events is narrowing.<\/p>\n
As the planet continues to warm, bleaching is forecast to reduce global\u202fcoral cover by 95 percent if temperatures warm by about two degrees.<\/p>\n
If the rise is up to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, bleaching will spread to 70 percent.<\/p>\n
Even if all countries deliver on their climate commitments, the world would still be on track for two degrees or more of warming.<\/p>\n
Globally, billions of dollars are being poured into coral bleaching mitigation projects \u2014 including breeding coral on artificial reefs and translocating it, making clouds more heat reflective, or controlling coral predators.<\/p>\n
These site-specific conservation efforts are important, but Terry Hughes, one of Australia\u2019s foremost coral reef scientists, says they do nothing to address the root cause of bleaching: climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 50 years of interventions, coral restoration attempts\u00a0have not changed the ecology of a single reef anywhere,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cThey\u2019re just too small in scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
For example, Hughes says breeding corals in aquariums has strict limitations.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou would need 250 million large corals, each the size of a dinner plate, to increase coral cover in the Great Barrier Reef by just one percent \u2014 and it would cost billions of dollars,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe solution is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Not giving up\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Australia has invested about Aus$5 billion ($3.2 billion) into\u00a0improving water quality, reducing the effects of climate change, and protecting threatened species.<\/p>\n
The country is one of the world\u2019s largest gas and coal exporters, and has only recently set loose targets to become carbon neutral.<\/p>\n
Whether these efforts will be enough to see the reef keep its World Heritage Status will be examined by UNESCO later this year.<\/p>\n
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority chief\u00a0scientist Roger Beeden says it will take some time before the full extent of this year\u2019s event are realised, but he is hopeful coral will recover.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s hundreds of species of corals,\u00a0they have evolved in an environment that is incredibly dynamic. They are very adaptable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to do all that we can. I\u2019m always hopeful. I think like medical doctors \u2014 I\u2019m not giving up on this patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Lizard Island, Hoggett worries for its future.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoral reefs are so beautiful, and I love them so much. They do so much good for the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just makes me angry that it\u2019s within our power to stop this from happening and we are not doing anything quickly enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef struggles to survive
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#Australias #Great #Barrier #Reef #struggles #survive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Marine biologist Anne Hoggett snorkels to inspect and record bleached and dead coral around Lizard…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[2234,2235,1146,2236,2237,2238],"yoast_head":"\n
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