Hey everyone,
Yes, as you might have guessed, I was supposed to post this yesterday. But I spent most of Saturday participating in a boat race, where I found that it is rather hard to write coherently while your small ship is leaning at a 45 degree angle, forcing you to sift through an endless tangle of ropes to maneuver the “jib.” By the time I finished, it was too late to post. But even if it’s a bit late, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system. Stretching 1,429 miles over the western coast of Australia, it is home to over 1,500 species of fish, at least 350 kinds of coral, and 6 types sea turtle out of 7 worldwide. Wow.
Truly, one of the world’s greatest havens for biodiversity.
Unfortunately, like so many coral reefs across the earth’s oceans, the Great Barrier has been struggling. This is thanks to an event known as bleaching. Put simply, bleaching is when coral turns white under stress - especially heat. This color change can greatly weaken the coral, increasing its mortality rate. Of course, bleaching on its own isn’t so bad; it’s a natural event, after all.
That’s where climate change comes in.
Climate change is increasing the amount of bleaching occurring. Why? Because the oceans are heating up. As I said above, bleaching is primarily caused by heat, and the fact that the arctic is disappearing should be evidence enough that the ocean is warming up.
Sounds pretty bleak for our coral reefs, right? A massive opponent that worsens by the minute, requiring solutions we’re still figuring out. And that’s not even going into the Crown of Thorns Starfish outbreaks.
A new report by the Australian Institute of Marine Science. In their “Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2021/22,” (they gotta work on their names) the group announced that coral levels in the northern and central Great Barrier Reef have increased to proportions not seen for 36 years. This is huge. That coral is vital to the reef ecosystem; it provides shelter, food, and is even in the name! (“coral reef”) It’s a true success story, amidst a sea of bad news and lost causes. If the world’s largest reef can make a comeback, why not other reefs? Maybe we have a chance.
Maybe there’s still hope.
If you want to read that report for yourself, the link is below (the button marked “Report on Coral Reef Condition 2021/22”). Fair warning, though: it can still be pretty bleak.