GlobalWarming & ClimateChange News Desk – A mass coral bleaching event has stretched beyond the Great Barrier Reef, with unprotected corals “starving to death” off south-east Queensland.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Mar.17: 2024: ABC Wide Bay News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

Higher-than-average ocean temperatures are causing thermal stress on the southern end of the World Heritage-listed reef and large patches of white coral have been seen further south.

Steven Clarke, who has been diving off the Bundaberg coast for 12 years, said the ocean has been unusually warm in recent weeks, reaching up to 31 degrees Celsius. He has observed changes to the coral and marine life at popular dive sites off Bargara including Barolin Rocks and Nudibranch Park. “ It’s basically just white coral. It’s not all the corals, but there are patches, lots of patches. It’s really sad to see,” Mr Clarke said. But damage has also been seen further south off Hervey Bay too.

Breannah Mitchell, an ambassador with citizen science program CoralWatch based at the University of Queensland, said she was shocked to see the bleaching so far south.

“Bleached coral doesn’t mean that the coral is dead. It means that it’s actually starving to death,” Ms Mitchell said. “ It does have some time to recover. But if the water stays warm the coral will die.”Experts fear Great Barrier Reef moving closer to tipping point.(ABC 7.30)normal

Warming oceans

Bleaching happens during marine heatwaves when coral becomes stressed and expels their zooxanthellae — single-celled algae that live within coral tissues and provide them with nutrients and colour. CoralWatch project manager Diana Kleine said the bleaching observed off Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, and Moreton Bay was “related” to the current mass coral bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef. “ We call a coral bleaching event a ‘mass coral bleaching event’ when several management areas experience severe bleaching,” she said. “ A mass bleaching event is related to climate change as oceans and land are getting warmer every year, and this trend of warmer water is causing more severe and more frequent bleaching. “ The best thing that we can do to reduce our global warming, and which will cause ocean temperatures to drop, is reducing carbon emissions.”

University of Queensland professor of marine science John Pandolfi said thermal stress was starting to impact coral reefs all the way south to Moreton Bay, including Flinders Reef and Peel Island.

“There’s very, very high thermal stress going on in the bay right now and it hasn’t yet peaked,” he said. “ The longer that the thermal stress occurs and the longer that the algae are expelled from the tissue of the coral, the less chance the coral has of recovering.”

No green zone

The Great Barrier Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) is conducting extensive monitoring of the fifth bleaching event across the World Heritage Site in eight years. But Professor Pandolfi said reef zone monitoring was mostly done outside the park by university researchers and volunteers with programs like CoralWatch.

He said that has led to a lack of data to understand what the true, widespread effects of the thermal stress really was.

“I think it would be good if the government could step up and start providing other funds on a continuous basis,” he said. “ So that we could really understand what the benthic ecology is of these coral reefs in the lead up to bleaching events and then afterwards.”

Ms Mitchell agreed.

“There has never been any data collected in Hervey Bay on the coral reefs here,” she said. “ The reefs that we have in Hervey Bay aren’t protected, there isn’t a green zone.”

At Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency, we value transparency and accountability. We want to inform you that we are not responsible for any external content, links, or posts. Nonetheless, we are dedicated to providing exceptional services and sincerely appreciate your support. Thank you.

@acenewsservices