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<p>The fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event (GCBE) reached the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in the Austral summer of 2023/24 and caused substantial coral mortality in the Cooktown-Lizard Island sector of the GBR. Thermal stress in this sector ranged from 5.9 to 8.2&#xa0;°C-weeks (Degree Heating Weeks—DHW) derived from NOAA Coral Reef Watch products, resulting in a 38.6% reduction in sector-wide average coral cover, from 31.2% pre-summer to 19.3% post-summer. Coral loss on individual reefs ranged from 11.4 to 72.2% of pre-summer coral cover levels, with the largest declines on inner and mid-shelf reefs. Despite having among the highest accumulated thermal stress in the study according to NOAA CRW product, the outer shelf reefs experienced little bleaching, and coral cover on these reefs remained largely unchanged. Differential impacts from bleaching across the continental shelf are likely related to localised hydrodynamic factors and community composition, with larger declines on the <i>Acropora</i>-dominated coral assemblages of the inner and mid-shelf reefs than those dominated by <i>Pocillopora</i> on the outer shelf. We provide strong evidence that rapid-growing tabular <i>Acropora</i> spp., the corals responsible for much of the recovery of coral cover across the northern and central GBR between 2017 and 2024, were the most impacted coral taxa. These findings underline the need for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming to between 1.5 and 2&#xa0;°C if a future for coral-dominated reefs is to be secured.</p>

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Anthropogenic climate change causes substantial loss of coral on the northern Great Barrier Reef during the 2024 bleaching event

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月3日

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  • Michael J. Emslie,
  • Daniela M. Ceccarelli,
  • Murray Logan,
  • Makeely I. Blandford,
  • Peran Bray,
  • Adriana R. Campili,
  • Neal Cantin,
  • Severine Choukroun,
  • Andrew Cole,
  • Michelle J. Jonker,
  • Clothilde Langlais,
  • Marji Puotinen,
  • Tara Prenzlau,
  • Tane H. Sinclair-Taylor,
  • Briony Stephenson

摘要

The fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event (GCBE) reached the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in the Austral summer of 2023/24 and caused substantial coral mortality in the Cooktown-Lizard Island sector of the GBR. Thermal stress in this sector ranged from 5.9 to 8.2 °C-weeks (Degree Heating Weeks—DHW) derived from NOAA Coral Reef Watch products, resulting in a 38.6% reduction in sector-wide average coral cover, from 31.2% pre-summer to 19.3% post-summer. Coral loss on individual reefs ranged from 11.4 to 72.2% of pre-summer coral cover levels, with the largest declines on inner and mid-shelf reefs. Despite having among the highest accumulated thermal stress in the study according to NOAA CRW product, the outer shelf reefs experienced little bleaching, and coral cover on these reefs remained largely unchanged. Differential impacts from bleaching across the continental shelf are likely related to localised hydrodynamic factors and community composition, with larger declines on the Acropora-dominated coral assemblages of the inner and mid-shelf reefs than those dominated by Pocillopora on the outer shelf. We provide strong evidence that rapid-growing tabular Acropora spp., the corals responsible for much of the recovery of coral cover across the northern and central GBR between 2017 and 2024, were the most impacted coral taxa. These findings underline the need for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming to between 1.5 and 2 °C if a future for coral-dominated reefs is to be secured.