The Great Barrier Reef is quickly disappearing, according to a report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). In fact, the Great Barrier Reef has lost 50 percent of its coral cover in the last 27 years. Researchers say that storm damage makes up for 48 percent of its loss in coral cover, starfish account for 42 percent and bleaching is responsible for 10 percent.
“We can’t stop the storms but, perhaps we can stop the starfish. If we can, then the Reef will have more opportunity to adapt to the challenges of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification”, said John Gunn, CEO of the AIMS, in a statement. Read on...
REEF experts believe the loss of half the coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef is a "national crisis" worthy of a rescue package similar to the $12 billion plan to save the Murray Darling Basin.
They blame Queensland's biggest industries, coal and sugar cane, for the rapid decline and question the fate of the $5 billion tourism icon given mining, farming and port developments.
But leading tourism identities warn the state's tourist trade and international reputation is being damaged as scientists send a "skewed" and "misleading" message that the Reef "is half-dead". Read on...
It is hard to picture starfish as the thugs of the marine world. But ravenous, thorny starfish have been terrorizing and destroying Australia’s Great Barrier Reef for almost three decades.
A study released in October by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Wollongong reveals that the reef has lost 50 percent of its coral cover in the last 27 years. The report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lists three factors that have led to the reef’s rapid degradation: tropical cyclones, predation by parasitic crown-of-thorns starfish and coral bleaching. Read on...
“We can’t stop the storms but, perhaps we can stop the starfish. If we can, then the Reef will have more opportunity to adapt to the challenges of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification”, said John Gunn, CEO of the AIMS, in a statement. Read on...
REEF experts believe the loss of half the coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef is a "national crisis" worthy of a rescue package similar to the $12 billion plan to save the Murray Darling Basin.
They blame Queensland's biggest industries, coal and sugar cane, for the rapid decline and question the fate of the $5 billion tourism icon given mining, farming and port developments.
But leading tourism identities warn the state's tourist trade and international reputation is being damaged as scientists send a "skewed" and "misleading" message that the Reef "is half-dead". Read on...
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| Crown-Of-Thorns-Starfish |
A study released in October by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Wollongong reveals that the reef has lost 50 percent of its coral cover in the last 27 years. The report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lists three factors that have led to the reef’s rapid degradation: tropical cyclones, predation by parasitic crown-of-thorns starfish and coral bleaching. Read on...
