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Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Over 50 Percent of its Coral

VOA News

   Scientists have discovered that Australia's Great Barrier Reef lost
   more than half of its coral populations between 1995 and 2017.

   Researchers at the [1]ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
   say coral bleaching, which occurs when corals expel algae that live
   inside their tissues, has occurred among all coral species and
   specimens of all ages.

   Coral bleaching is triggered by rising ocean temperatures caused
   primarily by climate change.

   The researchers also found that record-breaking ocean temperatures in
   2016 and 2017 triggered mass bleaching events that resulted in fewer
   baby corals and fewer large breeding adult ones, compromising the
   reef's ability to recover.

   One of the study's co-authors says the reef suffered its most extensive
   bleaching event in March of this year, especially in its southern
   region.

References

   1. https://www.coralcoe.org.au/

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