Merely after we reported on the Good Barrier Reef’s shifting biodiversity ensuing from the have an effect on of native climate change and human-caused pressures, researchers from the School of Sydney have now revealed the first peer-reviewed analysis documenting the “devastating have an effect on” of coral bleaching all through the southern Good Barrier Reef in 2024.
The analysis, revealed in Limnology and Oceanography Letters, locations a give consideration to the have an effect on of marine heat waves on coral ecosystems, whereas providing insights into the extent of coral bleaching and mortality via the 2023–2024 worldwide marine heat wave.
Led by Professor Maria Byrne from the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, the evaluation tracked the nicely being of some 462 coral colonies on the School of Sydney’s Good Barrier Reef evaluation station at One Tree Island over a interval of 161 days.
By February 2024, it was revealed that 66% of the monitored colonies had been bleached. By April, that had jumped to 80%. Extra investigation discovered that inside merely three months, by July 2024, 44% of those bleached colonies had died. One coral species particularly, the long-lasting Acropora coral, expert an astonishing 95% mortality cost all through this time.
“Our findings underscore the urgent need for movement to protect coral reefs, which are not solely biodiversity hotspots however as well as important for meals security and coastal security,” said Professor Byrne. “The southern Good Barrier Reef, no matter its protected standing, was not proof against the acute heat stress that triggered this catastrophic bleaching event.”