AUGUST 1999 NEWSLETTER

SCIENTISTS LOOK TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR GREAT BARRIER REEF

The future of the Great Barrier Reef may not be as gloomy as a recent Greenpeace report claims, according to CRC marine scientists. The report predicted that, by the middle of the 21st Century, most of the world's reefs would be exposed annually to high sea temperatures that kill corals.

Dr Terry Done, senior principal scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, says corals could be far more adaptable and resilient than expected. "The biodiversity of coral reefs may give them greater resilience to stress than the report gives them credit for," says Dr. Done.

"In the Great Barrier Reef, we are particularly fortunate. Most of its 3000 reefs escaped pretty lightly after the 1998 bleaching event. Even on the handful of inshore reefs where most of the corals died, hardy individual colonies survived the trauma.

"This suggests there are genotypes that are ready to take over if the seas do warm. Currents will also tend to transport warm-adapted coral types from the northern Great Barrier Reef region to the warming waters in the south," says Dr Done.

Cooperative Research Centre scientists are gearing up to assess the risks for the Barrier Reef's lucrative tourism industry. A collaborative partnership has also been formed with additional support from Queensland's Department of Natural Resources, the US-based National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, reef scientists and managers.

"Our biologists and oceanographers are working with CSIRO climate modellers to improve the predictions of how, when, where, and which types of corals could bleach and die. We will assess how bleaching might affect the appearance of reef tourism sites, and for how long. We are looking at between three and five years to complete this risk assessment," said Dr Done.

The CRC Reef Research Centre Ltd, Tourism Queensland (including Tourism Tropical North Queensland and Tourism Whitsundays) and the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators have recently conducted a seminar series to inform the tourism industry about coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. A team of CRC scientists have conducted briefings in Cairns, Airlie Beach and Brisbane about the effects of bleaching, including current research, monitoring programs and future action.

The briefings follow the release of a report Climate Change, Coral Bleaching and the Future of the World's Coral Reefs by Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from the University of Sydney. The report, commissioned by Greenpeace, is the first global study that uses models of projected climate change to predict coral bleaching events on reefs worldwide. The report concludes that if climate change is not stopped, coral bleaching is set to increase in frequency and intensity worldwide.

The CRC briefings also outlined current projects to study and monitor local sea temperatures, coral recovery, adaptation to stress and recent survey data. The CRC, in collaboration with GBRMPA, AIMS and NOAA, have established a coral bleaching internet directory on the CRC's website to help the tourism industry, recreational users and community groups keep better informed about the issue. Visit the page about coral bleaching here.

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