Coral Bleaching Triumph: Lumpy & Bumpy

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I’d like to introduce you to two of my good friends: LUMPY AND BUMPY.

Just like my colleagues, I saw these little critters every day for nearly three years. Just as you pass that tree or indoor plant as part of your daily routine, I would kick on past these two lovely wonders of nature. Every single day. 

My polyp friends are living animals, and home to a symbiotic algae called “zooxanthellae” which photosynthesis to give the polyps energy to survive, allow them to replicate themselves to form colonies, and fuel the polyps to lay down their skeletons which form the beautiful structures we see from both above and below the surface. 

In February of 2020, I watched them slowly change – and unfortunately, it was not for the better. First, some of the colonies started to lose the rich earthy colouring around their edges. The corals started to “pale”. The tiny microscopic algae living within the tissue of the coral polyp animals became toxic. The water was too warm, the living conditions unviable – at least for some. The coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae back into the water column, which causes the corals to lose their colour, as well as their primary source of energy for survival and growth. 

Sure, it seems counterproductive to expel something you’re relying on for up to 90% of your energy requirements, but the heat makes the zooxanthellae toxic to the corals and the symbiosis is not longer beneficial. Without their zooxanthellae, corals are not dead – at least not immediately. Without this vital energy source, however,  life is going to be difficult. How long would we last if we had 90% of our food taken away? We’d probably get rather sick rather quickly. 

As time went on, more and more corals started to pale. Strangely enough, there were corals directly side by side that were responding entirely differently to the imposed stress. Lumpy and Bumpy are two very marked examples of this.

In February, Bumpy – on the right (above) – was paling, while Lumpy showed no signs of stress. How is it that two corals directly side by side can react differently when exposed to stresses? In a similar way to how two humans exposed to the same stress may not react in exactly the same way. One may be slightly more tolerant, one may be genetically stronger or have built up more resilience.

By June 2020 (below), Bumpy was almost totally bleached, and even had some green slime macro algae growing where there was previously live coral. The whole colony was not yet dead, Bumpy was holding on and doing its best to recover from the harsh stress it was exposed to…

By November 2020 (Below), Bumpy had almost FULLY recovered! The majority of its zooxanthellae had reoccupied the bleached polyps, and although some little sections of previously live coral was now dead (mostly the little snippets that had been taken over by algal growth), the majority of the colony was able to recover and go about their polyp-ey lives!

The recovery of this colony was quite remarkable and is a wonderful success story to showcase the resilience of corals. They have an incredible ability to bounce back from stresses, and this goes to show – in very real terms – that just because a coral bleaches, doesn’t necessarily mean it is dead, or going to die. Lumpy and Bumpy are still going strong today.  

Keep up to date to read about how a healthy ecosystem supports corals to recover from stresses such as bleaching events.

Coral reefs provides important ecosystem services

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Nature and our ecosystems are amazing, we can all agree on that, right? However, have you heard about an ecosystem service before? It is explained as the benefits that humans can obtain from the natural environment just by existing.

Therefore, the Great Barrier Reef is a perfect example of an ecosystem that provides us with overflowing benefits with all the ecosystem services it provides us. Firstly, let’s break it down and explain what ecosystem services actually are.

 

 

Ecosystem services can be divided in three categories:

Poster cred: Wildlife Conservation Society

The social. First of all, we can literally spend weeks, months, or even years, exploring the over 900 islands. Our favourites are activities like SCUBA diving, sailing, island-hopping, snorkelling, the list can go long. I think we can all agree to the fact that the reef contributes to human well-being. Many of us find places along the reef where we feel a sense of home, where we can reconnect with ourselves and nature.

 

The economic. The Great Barrier Reef is valued at $56 billion!!! Crazy numbers!  These numbers are summarised by tourism, recreation, commercial fishing and scientific research. Over 90% are related to tourism and recreational activities. Many people’s livelihood along the Queensland coast is dependent on the reef. Want to read more? Click here: https://www.barrierreef.org/the-reef/the-value

 

The environmental. As the largest living organism in the world, the reef is such an important ecosystem for the health of the ocean and the planet. The reef provides habitat for organisms and marine species we rely on for food and medicine production. The reef assists in fixing greenhouse gases like carbon and nitrogen. And the reef provides an entire system with its marine inhabitants to help with nutrient recycling. How amazing?

 

 

Photo cred: Natalie Lobartolo

 

Have you ever thought about how the Great Barrier Reef provides us protection?

You may not think about it when you’re standing on shore looking out to the coral sea and you can’t see the reef with your own eyes. But on a larger scale, the reef actually has a quite important role in terms of coastal protection.

The structure of the Great Barrier Reef acts as a buffer between the open ocean and the coastline.  What that means in terms of protection of the coastline is that the reef is the first to take on larger storms, cyclones and waves. As a result of the buffer, the energy flow is dissipating before it reaches the shore. That is a game changer for preventing loss of lives, property damage and coastal erosion.

Coastal areas are for all of these amazing benefits highly inhabited. We love to live near the ocean for the lifestyle it has to offer. In Australia, this is evident with more than 85% of the population living within 50 kilometres of the coast.

 

But without the reef, would the coastline be the same?

Coral reefs evidently provide important ecosystem services.

In conclusion, if the functioning of the reef is decreasing, so are all the benefits we draw from it. Coral reefs provides important ecosystem services after all. Are we dependent on the social, economic, and environmental benefits the GBR provides us?

Looking after our beautiful reef is now more important than ever!

The reef needs us, and we also need the reef!

 

 

THE BLEACHING NOBODY HEARD ABOUT…

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In the early months of 2020, there was a lot going on in the world. Things were changing. Catastrophe was looming. Headlines were saturated with news of just one thing. COVID set the scene for a new status-quo, and life as we know it was being transformed. 

Whilst the whirlwind of unexpected change was sweeping across the planet, a quiet yet disturbing shift was happening below the surface too. As the world went into lockdown, reefs were being knocked about by warming sea surface temperatures. Just as the paling face of an ill patient loses its colour, corals were slowly but surely paling too. 

The reef was unwell; its fate uncertain.

Even if we – as humans – are able to fight a disease, illness takes time to recover from. If there is not enough time between recovery and the moment you’re faced with another challenge, your resilience and ability to fight that disease might be affected. These parallels are as much true for our own health as that of the reef. 

Luckily – at least this time – impacts of the warming were not prolonged, reefs were able to recover, and mortality was minimal.

So the question here is, was COVID enough of an excuse for most people to hear absolutely nothing about the reef and the challenges it was facing?

“Is human health the most important thing we need to care about?”

Of course if we are not in a good way ourselves, we can’t care for anything else. However, if we employ a sustainable mindset, would looking after and connecting to nature be – in and of itself – congruent with looking after our own health?

What impact could caring more for our planet have on our ability to live healthy, prosperous and fulfilling lives?

Keep posted to hear about two of Natalie’s favourite corals in the Lady Musgrave Lagoon: Lumpy and Bumpy, and the fascinating story of overcoming challenges… Coming shortly!