Great Barrier Reef: Dead?
On Friday, October the 14th many media outlets, including the United Kingdom and Australia, declared the Great Barrier Reef dead after 25 million years.
Since then many scientists, more specifically marine biologists and meteorologists, have stepped forward to shed more light on this underwater mystery. According to other sources, the Great Barrier Reef is not dead, but it is dying.
The reef is home to over 400 species of coral, 200 species of birds, 20 types of reptiles, mollusks, rays, dolphins and 1400 different species of tropical fish. The reef itself stretches over 3000 km along the east coast of Australia. As the seasons are changing, the reef was scheduled for an annual “bleaching.” Bleaching is a natural phenomenon where the algae living on coral leave, causing the coral itself to turn completely white or transparent. When the water temperature increases, the symbiotic relationship between the coral and algae is threatened, and this is what causes the algae to leave. Normally this would be okay, but given the larger increase in ocean temperatures over the past couple of years the coral are under more “stress” over longer periods of time.
As the water temperature stays warmer for prolonged periods of time, the corals are losing more and more algae (which they eat). As time progresses, without proper consumption of algae, the corals die off.
However, it is not too late. As we enter fall and winter, the oceans are expected to cool. This will allow for the corals to regain some of their food sources and hopefully come back to life.
In the future, scientists warn about global warming’s effect on aquatic life in the reef. The human race is the largest contributor to the issue of global warming. Will we ignore it until the time comes where we no longer have a healthy planet? Or will we act now, while we can? Only time will tell what we choose...