Race to save the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is unquestionably a wonder of the world. The largest coral system on Earth, it consists of more than 2,900 individual reefs and stretches over 2,300km (1,400 miles). Famously visible from space, it represents one of the most biodiverse known habitats and is of huge importance to the Australian economy, both because of tourism and because it supports fisheries. Moreover, the reef is of huge cultural significance for many Pacific communities. And it is in trouble.

The biggest threat to the reef is coral bleaching. This is caused by rising sea temperatures, and as a result of the complex nature of coral. Within the tissues of the millions of living creatures that comprise coral are microscopic, plant-like organisms called zooxanthellae, which capture sunlight, convert it to energy, and provide nutrients to the coral.

However, if sea temperatures rise, the coral expels the zooxanthellae and loses its colour. This doesn’t kill the coral straight away, but bleached coral is effectively starving and, if conditions do not return to those hospitable to zooxanthellae, it will die. Researchers in Australia are now trying to find ways to help corals in the Great Barrier Reef resist higher temperatures without bleaching, which they hope will preserve this unique environment.