The Australian Institute of Marine Science is a research institute.
The northern and central Great Barrier Reef have recorded their highest amount of coral cover in 36 years.
The AIMS Annual Summary Report shows an increase in coral cover across the Reef.
In the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef, the average hard coral cover increased to 34% from 27% in the previous year.
The southern region's average coral cover decreased from 38% in 2016 to 34% in 2020.
The crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak resulted in a third of the gain in coral cover being lost.
The vulnerability of the Reef to the continued acute and severe disturbances is shown by this.
This year's coral bleaching event is the fourth in seven years and the first to occur during a La Nia.
He said that in 36 years of monitoring the condition of the Great Barrier Reef, they've never seen a bleaching event so close together.
The Reef is at risk of temperature stress, bleaching and potentially mortality every summer and our understanding of how the ecology responds to that is still developing.
We have seen less mortality as a result of the 2020 and 2022. The results show that the Reef can recover in periods without intense disruptions.
AIMS monitoring team leader Dr. Mike Emslie said that most of the increase in coral cover was due to Acropora corals.
He said that the corals are vulnerable to wave damage.
They are vulnerable to coral bleaching, when water temperatures reach elevated levels, and are the preferred prey for crown-of-Thorns starfish. There can be large increases in hard coral cover that can be wiped out in a short period of time.
Climate change is driving marine heatwaves.
He said that the peak of the most recent bleaching event was when the heat stress caused widespread bleaching but not extensive mortality.
Warming ocean temperatures and the extent of mass bleaching events highlight the critical threat climate change poses to all reefs. The recovery can be reversed in a short period of time.
There is a background.
The longest and most comprehensive information source on the health of the Great Barrier Reef is the 36-year long dataset of AIMS' Long-Term Monitoring Program. Long-term trends in the condition of coral communities are determined by it.
The percentage of the reef that is covered in hard coral is called the percent hard coral cover. Most of the reefs had between 10 and 50 percent of the total area.
Corals respond to stress by bleaching. The coral animal can turn white and possibly die if it gets bleached. Corals are under a lot of stress.
More information: Please click the link to read the AIMS Annual Summary Report on Coral Reef Condition for 2021/22 Provided by Australian Institute of Marine Science
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