Mass coral bleaching is making it harder for certain species of reef fish to identify competitors. A widespread loss of coral has been caused by bleaching making them less able to avoid unnecessary fights, using up their energy resources.
READ MORE: Great Barrier ReefIt's the world's largest collection of coral reefs, spanning more than 1,430 miles down Australia 's eastern coastline.
Over the period, 12 out of 19 suffered from a decline in 'coral cover' – the area on a reef that's covered by live coral. AIMS surveyed 19 reefs in three geographical 'sectors' along the northeast - Cooktown-Lizard Island, Cairns and Innisfail. Over the period, 12 out of 19 suffered from a decline in 'coral cover' – the area on a reef that's covered by live coral
Exposure to ongoing heat, pollution and low tides can result in coral expelling its algae, which turns the coral from a vibrant colour to white, better known as 'bleaching'.'The heat stress got so high in some areas that mortality is not a surprising outcome,' Dr Emslie said. Between August and October, AIMS surveys covered three geographical 'sectors' along the northeast – Cooktown-Lizard Island, Cairns and Innisfail.
What is coral bleaching? Corals have a symbiotic relationship with a tiny marine algae called 'zooxanthellae' that live inside and nourish them. The ARC Centre of Excellence in Australia previously estimated that only the southern third of the Great Barrier Reef has escaped unscathed from coral bleaching.
AIMS expects to survey another five to 10 reefs in the Cairns sector and four to five reefs in the Innisfail sector in the coming months. Read More Hundreds of coral sites on Great Barrier Reef destroyed by fifth mass bleaching event in eight years Leck added the area surveyed was 'relatively small' and feared that when the full report is released next year 'similar levels of mortality' will be seen.
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