The Great Barrier Reef in Australia has recovered from storms and bleaching episodes to record levels, according to a survey.
The northern and central regions of the reef have the highest coral cover since monitoring began 36 years ago.
However, coral cover has diminished in the southern portion of the reef.
The new coral is especially sensitive, so the development might be rapidly reversed by climate change and other dangers, according to officials.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims) conducts annual reef health studies using aerial surveys and divers trailed slowly behind a boat.
After the confirmation of the fourth mass bleaching in six years in March, Aims had grave worries about this year’s study.
“In our 36 years of monitoring the status of the Great Barrier Reef, we have never witnessed such proximity between bleaching events,” said chief executive Paul Hardisty.
Warm water temperatures stress corals, causing them to expel the algae that give them color and vitality. This results in coral bleaching.
Before 2016, only two mass bleaching occurrences had been documented.
The bleaching episode that occurred this year was the first to occur during a La Nia, a weather phenomenon that generally causes lower water temperatures.
According to Dr. Hardisty, the reef can recover if conditions are favorable, but “acute and severe disturbances” are increasing in frequency and duration.
Additionally, coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and tropical cyclones that generate devastating waves have harmed the reef.
According to Dr. Mike Emslie from Aims, much of the new coral growth, a species called Acropora, is highly vulnerable to the reef’s challenges.
“This means that future disturbances can quickly undo the apparent recovery,” he explained.
As one of the most biodiverse ecosystems, the Great Barrier Reef has been a World Heritage site for forty years due to its “enormous scientific and intrinsic importance.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which maintains the reef, cites climate change as an “extremely dismal” prognosis for the landmark.
Unesco, the scientific and cultural arm of the United Nations, asserts that not enough is being done to conserve the reef.
