August 9, 2019

Anna Murray 

On August 8, 2019, a team of 11 Australian and 1 US research scientists from the University of New South Wales, the University of Newcastle, the University of Technology Sydney, James Cook University, and the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ) respectively, William P. Leggat, Emma F. Camp, David J. Suggett, Scott F. Heron, Alexander J. Fordyce, Stephanie Gardner, Lachlan Deakin, Michael Turner, Levi J. Beeching, Unnikrishnan Kuzhiumparambil, C. Mark Eakin, and Tracy D. Ainsworth, published the report “Rapid Coral Decay Is Associated with Marine Heatwave Mortality Events on Reefs” in journal Current Biology. The study reveals astonishingly what really happens to corals during marine heatwaves.

The technical research was acknowledged in the report funded by the Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies; Great Barrier Reef Foundation; Australian Research Council Discovery Program Grant; US NOAA NESDIS and Coral Reef Conservation Program to study the severe heatwave conditions occurred during 2016 at the northern the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland in Australia with the world's largest coral reef system of more than 2,900 beautiful reefs and 900 islands stretching approximately for 2,300 kilometers over an area of 344,400 square kilometers.

In the study, scientists have carefully examined rapid coral skeletal decay, simulated the severe heatwave conditions, analyzed heat-induced tissue death and coral mortality, and have concluded that marine heatwaves on coral reefs are biologically distinct to how coral bleaching in heatwave conditions result in instant mortality of the coral colony, rapid coral skeletal dissolution, and the loss of the three-dimensional reef structure, which shelters many other species on reefs.

The report identifies marine heatwaves associated with climate change are a much bigger threat to coral reefs than previously recognized coral bleaching. Based on the fact that marine heatwaves with increasing frequency can lead to the instant death of corals, the authors provide compelling evidence for the urgent need for worldwide efforts to mitigate climate change for the protection of coral reef ecosystems.

Photo:Webshot.