Ahmed Haji Essa

Dr. Dorset W. Trapnell & Dr. Mark A. Farmer

BIOL 1108
9/11/2022

Prompt: Why did tourism to the Great Barrier Reef peak in 2016?

Condie, S. A., Anthony, K., Babcock, R. C., Baird, M. E., Beeden, R., Fletcher, C. S., Gorton,
R., Harrison, D., Hobday, A. J., Plagányi, É. E., & Westcott, D. A. (2021). Large-scale
interventions may delay decline of the Great Barrier Reef. Royal Society open
science, 8(4), 201296.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201296

This article outlines how the Great Barrier Reef, the largest known organism on Earth, is
currently under severe stress from global warming, tropical cyclones, marine heat waves, and
recurrent epidemics of coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish. Scientists discovered their
combined effects had reduced coral coverage to some of the lowest numbers ever seen. This is
precisely why most individuals wanted to view it before it wholly vanished. Ocean warming is
already affecting the intensity of cyclones and the frequency of mass bleaching episodes, such as
what occurred in 2016.
Marine heatwaves are established as sporadic actions based on the accumulated vulnerability of
reefs to high heat, comparable to tropical cyclones. Since bleaching levels are typically impacted
by a mixture of water temperature and irradiance, this exposure is represented in degree heating
weeks (DHW). Within the marine heatwave's spatial footprint, coral bleaching mortality rose
with DHW. A marine heatwave may happen in any given year, with the most significant
geographic scope of the bleaching event expanding with the highest allowable DHW. Therefore,
the researchers in this article wanted to include possible interventions. One of the most eye-
opening and intriguing interventions was shading to reduce coral bleaching. In order to limit
bleaching mortality, shading was defined as a constant reduction in DHW. Increased water
temperatures and irradiance levels frequently result in bleaching and are tacitly represented by
this straightforward parametrization. A small number of reefs may benefit from using surface
films or other shade equipment to lessen heat stress. Overall, scientists implore and hope that
other scientists take the findings of this research and that it inspires them to examine their
solitons and find potential new ones.
Howlett L, Camp EF, Edmondson J, Henderson N, Suggett DJ (2021) Coral growth, survivorship
and return-on-effort within nurseries at high-value sites on the Great Barrier Reef. PLoS
ONE 16(1): e0244961.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244961
One of the fundamental ways that humans connect to their environment is through their aesthetic
pleasure in natural areas. It promotes well-being, offers time for thought and recreation, gives a
sense of location, enriches culture, and inspires individuals to protect natural sites and preserve
them for present and future enjoyment. Places with high aesthetic value are also hubs of
economic activity. According to the researcher's study, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)
experienced back-to-back coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017, which made corporate executives
concerned for the reefs and inspired them to build multi-taxa coral nurseries on the GBR for the
first time in 2018 to help with reef preservation and rehabilitation because when the GBR faced
decreased coral abundance, then that would negatively affect their finances.
This article also explains how global warming, tropical storms, and ocean warmer temperatures
are to blame for the Great Barrier Reef's current condition of extreme stress. Tourists traveled to
GBR in 2016 because they were concerned that its beauty would be lost over time. This article
focuses on how these nurseries are here to preserve, protect, and restore coral reefs. One nursery
they focused on was at Opal Reef. Researchers have demonstrated that one of the very first
multi-taxa nurseries at the Opal Reef may produce significant coral growth and survival rates.
While it is evident that combating climate change as the root cause of the GBR's destruction is a
priority, their findings here imply that nurseries are beneficial to coral reefs. To properly
determine the usefulness and efficiency of such nursery equipment as a reduced site management
solution, it will also be essential to evaluate how successfully other GBR site administrators can
adopt it.