The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural world's most beautiful sites.
It is a beautiful eco-system, which is home to beautiful animals. These beautiful animals include the charismatic clownfish.
Sadly though, the Great Barrier Reef is at risk of disappearing.
Damage to the Great Barrier Reef has been documented over the last few years. The damage done to the Barrier Reef has been through bleaching, which has happened to the Great Barrier Reef in recent years. This bleaching has resulted in some of the Great Barrier Reef essentially dying.
The New Report About The Great Barrier Reef
The new report about the Great Barrier Reef shows devastating news for this gorgeous eco-system - as it has been reported that the Great Barrier Reef has now lost half of its corals.
Corals are the bedrock of the Great Barrier Reef, they are a place where animals live, sleep and eat in that eco-system.
Coral reefs like the ones found within the Great Barrier Reef are compared to the world's rainforests. Imagine if the trees in the world's rainforests died off, it would result in the animals that live within the rainforests losing their place of shelter (homes) and losing their place where they find and eat food - it is a similar thing for the world's coral reefs.
Why Has The Great Barrier Reef Lost Half Its Corals?
The new report says that the Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its corals because of the water temperature in the Great Barrier Reef has been increasing. Because the water temperature has been increasing, it means that the environment in the Great Barrier Reef is becoming unsuitable for the coral reefs to live there and grow back.
How Long Has This Been Happening?
The loss to these coral reefs hasn't happened overnight. Instead, these changes have been happening over the last few decades. The changes to the Great Barrier Reef have been happening since 1995. However, these changes to the Great Barrier Reef have been happening quicker than expected.
A few years ago, the Great Barrier Reef also went through a mass bleaching event. This mass bleaching event happened in 2016 and 2017.
What Is The Main Threat To The Great Barrier Reef?
The main threat to the Great Barrier Reef, seems to be climate change. It is a warming planet, caused by Co2 emissions, which is causing sea temperatures to rise. This, in turn, is causing the Great Barrier Reef to die off. To save ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef, we need to halt Co2 and create a greener world - a world which is beneficial to the natural world and humans alike.
Comments