Australia’s great natural world. The largest living thing on Earth. Visible from space. These phrases depict the one and only Great Barrier Reef of Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef and one of the seven wonders of the world. It is 1,400 miles long, contains 2,900 individual reefs, and is home to thousands of different species. Some examples are fish, mollusks, birds, whales and dolphins, and turtles. The reef provides life to many species, and if it were lost, the surrounding ecosystem would be negatively impacted to a great extent.
However, it seems like the nightmare has become true. Last month, it was recorded that “The Great Barrier Reef of Australia passed away in 2016 after a long illness. It was 25 million years old.” The reef’s greatest enemy, bleaching, has caused tremendous amounts of destruction to the reef. Coral bleaching is when stress on the environment causes a disruption between the relationship between the tissues of corals and microscopic algae. This causes corals to turn white and lose its beautiful color. Several factors cause coral bleaching such as temperature change, runoff and pollution, overexposure to sunlight, and extreme low tides. Last May, researchers reported that more than a third of the northern reefs was dead and that 93% of individual reefs was affected. Since then, situations have worsened greatly; hence, the devastating news of the Great Barrier Reef.
Despite how the Great Barrier Reef was declared dead by several, many have opposed this statement. Researchers and scientists say that the reef is not quite dead, but it is dying. Therefore, there is still hope in preserving it. According to CNN, in the past, the Australian government had pressured the United Nations to take the Great Barrier Reef off the climate change list, but after the major change, the most precise measurements are taking place. It is no doubt that the reef is in a grave state. However, it is not completely dead yet, and we can all strive to preserve what is still left.
By: Soo Lee
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