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Nicholas Lee

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104

November 1, 2017

Coral Bleaching: Is the Death of the Great Barrier Reef Closer Than Expected?

An epidemic is breaking out on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) found on Australias East

Coast of Queensland. The reef is comprised of 2900 individual reefs, making it the largest reef

system in the world, so large in fact that it is visible from space (Veron). According to the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, coral bleaching occurs when the skeletal

structure of coral which is made of calcium carbonate, expels all the algae from it. This leads to a

white color of the coral, and can lead to the mortality of the structure. Why is the coral bleaching

occurring? This question has caused several scientists to conduct research on the GBR to find the

answer. The problem is, there are several different views on what could be causing the issue.

One thing all the scientists agree on however, is that climate change is real, and it is affecting the

health of the GBR, along with all the Marine Life it harbors. There is a direct correlation of coral

bleaching causing the death of the corals on the GBR.

With the new research found by researchers in the last year, there is evidence that there

is an increase of rate in which the coral bleaching is occurring on the Great Barrier Reef. This is

leading to a much faster mortality of the corals present on the reef. When researches found that
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the Great Barrier Reef was dying, they originally predicted that it would be dead close to 2050.

Now due to the extreme bleaching seen over the summer of 2016, and with the high percentage

of coral being bleached predicted for the summer of 2017, scientists now believe that we may

have even less time than that, with some marine biologists even estimating the reefs complete

extinction by the year 2025. How much longer do we really have with the Worlds only living

Natural wonder?

History of the Great Barrier Reef

Before looking at the current issues facing the Great Barrier Reef, we have to understand

more about the reefs pasts. The coral present on the reef is composed of calcium carbonate and

living polyps, as well as the algae that provides nutrients for the corals (J. Veron). The GBR that

is currently alive on the East Coast of Australia has some of the oldest coral structures of any

reef in the world. The modern GBRs origin stems from the Pleistocene period, when glacial

melting due to the warming of the earth occurred around 10,000 years ago (J. Veron). There are

still coral structures present on the Lee (part of the reef that is out of the wind) of the Ribbon

Reefs where the first carbonate began to form the current GBR (J. Veron).

While the current GBR is very old and the biggest reef ever found in the oceans, it was

not the first reef to occupy this area east of Queensland. The first reefs from this area can be

dated back to dinosaur ages, and are not anything like the coral reefs present around the world

today. They were not made of the same calcium carbonate that the current coral structures are
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made from currently, with the majority made from large sea sponges and other ancient creatures

(J. Veron).

There have been several mass extinctions on the Great Barrier Reef and reefs that used to

occupy the area the GBR is currently located at. Low sea levels, temperature changes, and other

anomalies have all been responsible for disrupting the equilibrium of the GBR. These have been

a source of previous mass extinctions and have caused the reef and marine life relying on the reef

trouble. In the past, the reef has always rebounded from the issues its faced. However, it happens

with a new face and a new type of organism creating the reef. Most of these mass extinctions

occurred when the Earth went through drastic climate change, whether it was an ice age or time

of extreme heat in the prehistoric eras. Currently, there is talk that another mass extinction is

affecting the coral on the GBR. According to J.E.N. Veron, there have been three major mass

bleachings since 1998. The bleaching that occurred in 1998 left an average of 43% bleached; in

2002 there was and average of 56% bleached; and in 2016 we saw a very rapid increase of

bleaching with almost 85% of reefs showing some sign of bleaching.

What Are the Causes?

Hotter water temperatures are being blamed as the main culprit of the coral bleaching by

several scientists. Dr. Terry P. Hughes, Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and

Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies as well as a professor at James

Cook University, is currently the loudest voice on the stance of warming water temperatures

causing the bleaching of the GBR. He was considered one of the top 10 most important people

in 2016 by Nature. Dr. Hughes has been conducting research on the GBR for several years now,

and claims that he has never seen any coral bleaching event to the magnitude like the one

experienced on Australias east coast last summer. In a section of reef above Cairns, a city
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located in east Queensland, the mortality rate ranged from 47-83% of corals dying. Dr. Hughes

believes there is a correlation of the water temperatures on the Great Barrier Reef being well

above average with the current state of the coral bleaching. He conducted research on this

hypothesis, and the results are startling. Dr. Hughes uses a term called Degree Heating Weeks

(DHW) which is used to describe a week of the summer where the water temperature is above

the average for that time of the year. Before 2016, the average amount of stress on the coral was

1-8 DHW, where as in 2016 we see that over 30% of the reefs experienced 8-16 DHW. 75% of

the reefs that experienced this very high number of DHW saw extreme coral bleaching (over

30% bleached).

While the majority of marine biologists argue that there is one major issue, there are a

handful of scientists that accept the multi-issue possibility. J.E.N. Veron, who is known as the

author of several marine biology works as well as discovering more than 20 of the worlds coral

species, is also a believer in the high-water temperatures around the GBR to be the cause of the

coral bleaching. However, in his book A Reef in Time he discusses how the coral bleaching could

be caused by other sources. One source of the coral bleaching he believes to be the impure water

quality of rivers dumping pollutants into the Pacific Ocean. He has also conducted research on

chemical imbalances that have changed the pH level in the ocean. Corals require a very specific

pH, and any variation in this pH level can cause them to shed the algae that they require to live.

In saying this, Veron writes that the release of greenhouse gasses is a main cause of the coral

bleaching. He does not believe that Carbon Dioxide as the main culprit however. In A Reef in

Time, Veron writes about greenhouse gasses such as methane that is 22 times more potent than

Carbon Dioxide. This, as well as synthetic chemicals being released into the atmosphere are

trapping solar radiation causing the temperatures to rise.

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A study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United

States of America challenges the research conducted by Dr. Hughes, and builds on the ocean

acidification idea that Veron discusses in his book. They believe that the acidification of the

ocean is due to the diffusion of Carbon Dioxide into the ocean. The ocean is a natural cash of

chemicals, and when it gets stirred up from a storm the chemicals diffuse into the water. The

Academy of Science claims that more than 30% of all carbon dioxide released by humans is

absorbed into the ocean. A more acidic ocean is known to dissolve the calcium carbonate that is

used to build the coral structures. The team conducted research on Heron Island, an island found

in the GBR system, and its surrounding reefs to look at the effect of Carbon Dioxide in the water.

The research first studied the effect of mortality of coral and rate of coral bleaching when

exposed to high levels of ocean acidification as well as the effect of growth rates when a lower

pH is present. The results were staggering. The coral they chose to focus on was the Acropora

species, known for its fast growth rate. They found that in the Acropora coral, higher levels of

exposure to CO2 resulted in more bleaching than a rise in temperature. The research also showed

considerable slowing in the growth rate, which led to a change in the way the coral structure was

built. This research is the strongest contradiction to the temperature change theory and is thought

to be a bigger risk to the reef, because the reef would not be able to rebuild unless the pH of the

water went back to the equilibrium the coral required.

While these topics are the big three that are being looked at as causes, there is still

research suggesting that there could be other causes that are accelerating and adding to the

bleaching. There is a star fish called the Queen-Of-Thorns starfish that is known to eat coral, and

can cause bleaching (J. Veron). In certain areas of the reef there is evidence that this starfish

could cause the bleaching seen. However, there is not a large enough amount of these coral
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hungry starfish to make the impact on the big scale. There have been an increase of Queen-Of-

Thorn starfish due to the increase of fertilizers dumped into the ocean, and it could lead to a

larger impact of this species.

One more source of coral bleaching that J.E.N. Veron touched on that is often overlooked

is the water quality and pollutants that can be found being dumped into the ocean from rivers and

creeks. The runoff of pesticides and other chemicals can choke out the corals. A study conducted

by the World Wildlife Foundation showed that farm pollution that enters the ocean ecosystem

from runoff in rivers has been found on the GBR. Not only pesticides create a problem for the

reef; an excess of fertilizer and nitrogen rich run-off can also cause serious problems (WWF).

According to the WWF, Queen-Of-Thorn larvae feed on the nitrogen rich fertilizer, causing

greater numbers to appear on the reef (WWF). When fertilizer settled on top of coral, it can

smother them out and keep the coral heads from gaining the nutrients that they need (WWF).

The Effect on Australia

The Great Barrier Reef is a huge source of income not only for the East Coast of

Australia, but for all of Australia. The reef is valued at roughly $56 billion, almost $6.4 billion a

year from tourism according to Neil Perry. Perry is a Research Lecturer at the Western Sydney

University in Sydney Australia. With the death of large sections of the GBR, there are

expectations that certain tourism destinations on the reef will no longer be as popular. In areas

such as Cairns, a town located near the GBR where the greatest coral mortality was seen, tourism

is expected to drop off sharply.

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Another large problem that Australia will face is the loss of the biodiversity found on the

GBR. The reef is home to thousands of different species of fish, sea reptiles, mollusks, shellfish,

and crustaceans. The surrounding ocean around the GBR will begin to lose diversity, as well as

its health with the death of the reef. While there is a lot of emphasis on how much the reef is

worth, there is no way to put value on the only living natural wonder of the world. It is the

largest living organism on the planet and does not stand a chance against the problems it is

facing that were caused by humans.

What Happens Next?

The Great Barrier Reef is under attack. It faces several environmental and pollution

threats that could possibly lead to its death. Many marine biologists have dedicated their careers

to finding possible causes to the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, as well as many other

reefs around the world. Since the first modern coral reefs have appeared, there have been several

global scale mass bleachings. The Great Barrier Reef was thought to be going extinct over time,

and many scientists believed that it would be mostly dead by 2050. However, with the recent

coral bleaching of the summer of 2016, and the predicted mass bleaching of the summer of 2017,

Australias natural wonder is now looking at a much shorter future.

Looking at the research conducted by several scientists, who look at several different

possible sources for the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, it is becoming evident that it is a

human made issue. There are natural causes to the bleaching such as the Queen-Of-Thorns

starfish, as well as the natural warming and cooling of the earth, but the current scale of the

bleaching is not indicative of this. The large influx of Carbon Dioxide as well as other

greenhouse gasses caused by the burning of fossil fuels and other forms of pollutants is killing

the most biodiverse ecosystem of our planets.

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While several scientists believe there is only one main source of the coral bleaching, it is

evident that there are several sources leading to the mortality of the corals. The globe is warming

due to Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gasses such as methane. The ocean is becoming

more acidic from the diffusing of Carbon Dioxide into it. There are also several other smaller

issues such as sea level change, oil pollution, and acid rain that are also adding more weight

behind the punch being dealt to the fourth natural wonder of the world. Will the Great Barrier

Reef be able to come back from the current mass bleaching event? It has in the past, and it is

likely to in the future, but it will have a different look than the modern reef we know today.

While there is research being done on what we can do to slow the bleaching, there is only

so much we can do to reverse it. Currently the only real option we must save the reef is to

completely reverse, or drastically slow the climate change that humans are expediting through air

pollutants released form different sources, says Dennis Normile. Without a large, worldwide

response to help slow or reverse the amount of greenhouses gasses that we are releasing into the

atmosphere, the Great Barrier Reef will have a short future. The big question has changed from

Is the Great Barrier Reef Dying, to How much longer do we have with this natural wonder in

Australias back yard?

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Works Cited

Anthony, K.R.N., D.I. Kline, G. Diaz-Pulido, S. Dove, and O. Hoegh-Guldberg. Proceedings of

the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 26 Sept 2008,

www.pnas.org/content/105/45/17442.full Accessed Sep. 27, 2017.

Cave, Damien and Justin Gills. Large Sections of Australias Great Reef Are Now Dead,

Scientists Find. New York Times, 15 March 2017.

www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/science/great-barrier-reef-coral-climate-change-

dieoff.html. Accessed 27 Sept 2017.

Conservation of the Great Barrier Reef. World Wildlife Foundation.

http://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/oceans/great-barrier-reef#gs.qHCMQkA

Accessed Dec. 5, 2017.

Hughes, Terry P. Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature, VOL 543,

Macmillan Publishers Limited, 16 March 2017 Nature Journal. Accessed 27 Sept 2017.

Normile, Dennis. Theres Only One Way to Save the Great Barrier Reef, Scientists Conclude.

Science Mag. Published March 15, 2017.

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/03/there-s-only-one-way-save-great-barrier-reef-

scientists-conclude Accessed Dec. 5, 2017

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Perry, Neil. Whats the Value of the Great Barrier Reef? Its Priceless. The Conversation.

Published June 28, 2017. http://theconversation.com/whats-the-economic-value-of-the-

great-barrier-reef-its-priceless-80061. Accessed Dec. 5, 2017.

Veron, J.E.N. A Reef in Time. Mary Stafford-Smith, Belknap Press, March 2010. Accessed 27

Sept. 2017.

What Is Coral Bleaching? Published October 10, 2017. NOAA.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html Accessed Dec. 5, 2017