No, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is NOT dead. But it is in serious trouble. Despite being under severe stress like most of the other coral structures around the world, the coral ecosystem spanning 1,400 miles off Australia's coast is not yet dead.
In response to reports that the ecosystem is dead, scientists said that the world's largest coral reef system may be dying but it is not yet dead.
Rising water systems primarily driven by climate change is widely attributed for the damages on the Great Barrier Reef. In May, researchers discovered that more than a third of the coral in northern and central parts of the reefs was dead, and 93 per cent of individual reefs had been affected by a condition known as coral bleaching.Bleaching happens when corals are subjected to extreme stress such as changes in conditions like light, nutrients and temperature, which cause the corals to expel symbiotic algae from their tissue and in turn cause them to turn white.
It is undeniable that the Great Barrier Reef is on life support. A comprehensive reef survey has proven that about 93 percent of the reef network is affected by the coral bleaching which is now putting it at risk of extinction.
This massive bleaching started with the Hawaiian islands bleaching in the early part of 2015 due to a moderate El Nino event in 2014-2015.
Scientists are conducting studies that can help save the ecosystem. Researchers have found that some adult corals swap their algal partners later in life, which could assist them in getting more heat-tolerant microalgae that could eventually help corals better adapt to global warming.
