Hannah Sullivan 1

Environmental Damage to the Great Barrier Reef

Abstract:
One of the seven natural wonders of the world is at risk of extinction. The Great Barrier
Reef, the largest living entity, is deteriorating right before our eyes. The Great Barrier Reef
provides for thousands of different marine species, creating the most diverse ecosystem in the
world. Over the past thirty years we have seen a significant decrease in coral coverage. The
decline of coral coverage along with the bleaching of coral has caused concern and made the
Great Barrier Reef a popular topic for scientific research. This concern of survival has generated
lots of research on the Great Barrier Reef especially in the past thirty years, as scientists are
scrambling to prove what is contributing to the degradation of this coral reef.
Introduction:
The recent mass bleaching event of 2016 seemed to cause a panic amongst society as
many shared news articles with titles such as or relating to " the Great Barrier Reef pronounced
dead". This sudden panic caused by the idea that the Great Barrier Reef had been pronounced
extinct grabbed the attention of society, as well as mine. I decided this threat of survival to the
Great Barrier Reef would be a good topic to summarize for a literature review since there is
abundant information, thanks to all the research done in the past thirty years, as well as it would
be a good subject to inform the curious public about. The topic of this paper can be stated
simply as "Environmental damage to The Great Barrier Reef", the goal is to provide the reader
with enough information to form their own ideas and attempt to answer the question of " What
causes damage to the Great Barrier Reef", which in detail covers; past predictions about today,
ocean acidification, rising sea temperatures, coral bleaching, terrestrial runoff, overfishing,
cyclones, and Crown-of-Thorns outbreaks. My personal position on the subject is that the Great
Barrier Reef is at risk of extinction due to a combination of factors including but not limited to; a
rise in sea temperatures, El Nino, ocean acidification, terrestrial runoff pollution, overfishing,

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development and tourism, cyclones, and Crown-Of-Thorn outbreaks. The recent trend of
increased sea temperatures and acidity, are both believed to be caused by climate change and
global warming results of human activities. The Great Barrier Reef faces natural threats as well,
two well known examples that will be discussed are Crown-of-Thorns Starfish and cyclones.
After my research I believe these natural threats may be influenced by human activities causing
them to occur more frequently and impacting the Great Barrier Reef in an even greater way. I
believe this declination of coral coverage and intense bleaching should serve as evidence of
extreme degradation to the Great Barrier Reef, which should concern us greatly and result in a
call for immediate action. In order to provide the reader with a wide spectrum of information
related to this topic, this document will summarize the information found in over twenty five
sources of scholarly, expert written, scientific research, and government publications.

Backround:
The Great Barrier Reef houses and provides for the most diverse ecosystem in the
world. It is the largest living structure to exist and it is deteriorating as we watch. To combine
those thoughts, the largest living entity and most diverse source of life on our earth is dying.
That should concern everyone. We should be curious to identify the conditions that are killing
this diverse ecosystem in order to come up with solutions. The Great Barrier Reef has been
deteriorating for years in the face of natural threats such as, Crown- of- Thorns Starfish
infestations and cyclones, and then as the demands of our growing human population the
pressures of our anthropogenic activities have taken their toll on the Great Barrier Reef. These
pressures that we have placed on the Great Barrier Reef are not decreasing, which suggests
that the degradation will not either. Yet, it seems to only concern people when a massive
bleaching event occurs, but people need to realize this is a constant and continuous problem.
The Great Barrier Reef is at risk of extinction and we must push for policies that will mitigate
degradation by targeting the sources of it. In order to try and reverse these negative

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consequences we must act immediately as this is a time-sensitive issue. My personal view is
that in order to make a difference as quickly as possible, we must focus on the local and more
manageable pressures, such as; tourism, overfishing, and coastal development, while trying to
figure out the solutions for larger issues that stem from global warming and climate change.

Past Predictions about today:

A book published in 1982 had a section where the author gave his personal prediction for
the future of the Great Barrier Reef. The text discusses how coral reefs have no measures of
protection against certain human activities and could potentially result in significant destruction
of the coral reefs. The present coral reefs at this time (1982) had not experienced any severe
negative effects as a result of human activities and the only destruction of coral they had
evidence of was from fossil records and dating back to the Paleozoic era, and these events of
destruction were considered rare since they occurred millions of years apart. Endean, R. (1982).
It is interesting to see how this author used various scenarios that were occurring in this time
period to other coral reefs and used those case studies to make predictions for the future of the
Great Barrier Reef. For example, around the 1970s and 80s the coast of Okinawa was going
through a phase of development, which of course in synonymous with deforestation as building
of housing, tourism and agriculture projects increased at a rapid rate. This development resulted
in an increase of clay particles and sediments which caused extensive mortality rates in the coral
reefs off this japanese island. The mortality of corals in this region were used to predict the
potential effects of construction on the Great Barrier Reef in the future. The author later
mentions the expansion of tourist attractions in the area of the Great Barrier Reef which he
predicts and accepts then that this growth would only continue along with the various sources of
pollution it brings. Endean, R. (1982)

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Ocean Acidification:
One of the most severe threats that the Great Barrier Reef faces is ocean
acidification. The term ocean acidification refers to the change in the chemical
composition of the sea water as its PH level lowers. Ocean acidification is a result of the
ocean absorbing some of the excess carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and the
reaction that occurs between carbon dioxide molecules, water molecules, and calcium
carbonate ions.

Since the industrial revolution the PH of surface ocean waters has increased around about
thirty percent in acidity. What is Ocean Acidification? (n.d.) This increase in acidity threatens
coral reefs because as carbon dioxide is absorbed and dissolved into our ocean, the water
becomes more acidic. The lowering of the PH levels in ocean water slow down the calcifying
process making it difficult for coral to regrow. Zielinski, S. (2011, May 17). The term ocean
acidification refers to the chemical reaction that is occurring from the absorption of carbon
dioxide into the ocean. Ocean acidification causes ocean water to become undersaturated in
calcium carbonate minerals which are the building blocks of corals exoskeletons..What is Ocean
Acidification? (n.d.). The rise of acidity in the ocean makes it difficult for the calcium carbonate
to form and lowers the aragonite saturation state of seawater. Science; new general science
data have been reported by researchers at sydney university of technology (the exposure of the
great barrier reef to ocean acidification). (2016, ).To explain this further, the mixture of Carbon
dioxide molecules, water molecules and calcium carbonate ions forms bicarbonate ions. The
formation of bicarbonate ions clearly changes the chemistry of calcium carbonate ions that are
used by coral and shellfish to form exoskeletons and shells. Bicarbonate ions using the calcium
carbonate ions interferes with the process of calcification.Ocean Acidification. (n.d.) In 2011
scientists from Australia began to note the seriousness of the situation as they realized that this

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acidification not only slows the regrowth of coral, but also gives seaweed an advantage to
dominate the Great Barrier Reef. The scientist set up an experiment with four tanks exposed to
different levels of carbon dioxide in the water. In the experiment coral recovered faster in all
carbon dioxide levels that did not have the competitor, seaweed, present in the tank. The tanks
with higher carbon dioxide levels were implemented coral regrowth declined more than in the
tanks with lower carbon dioxide levels. The tanks that implemented carbon dioxide levels equal
to the 21st centuries, no living coral survived at all. This experiment made the australian
scientist recognize the severity of the situation.Zielinski, S. (2011, May 17). Another experiment
was done on the Great Barrier Reef that provided us with the first official evidence that is strong
enough for us to claim there is a link between the rise of carbon dioxide emissions with the
decline of coral regrowth. Scientists administered an alkaline substance into the water to bring
the PH levels of the water back to pre-industrial levels. The result of this experiment was an
overall seven percent increase in growth of coral, which strongly proposes that carbon dioxide
levels in our ocean are slowly coral growth.Tollefson, J. (2016). The article points out that a
significant factor of this study was that it was done in a real world setting not in a laboratory,
meaning these results are even more compelling. Often studies on ocean acidification are done
in laboratories because it is easier for scientists to limit other factors in such a setting. Other
factors that threaten coral reefs can make it difficult to measure the amount of damage or to
prove if there is any at all directly linked with one of the factors, in this case which was the rise
of CO2 levels. Tollefson, J. (2016). There is no reason for scientists to believe that the ocean will
stop absorbing carbon dioxide, meaning the acidity of ocean waters will continue to increase.
Scientists have made future projections for ocean acidity based off of business as usual
emission scenarios and determined that ocean water could be one hundred and fifty percent
more acidic by the end of the twenty first century. What is Ocean Acidification? (n.d.). Research
done from the Sydney University of Technology attempted to use a regional coupled circulationbiogeochemical model to predict the estimated future acidity of the water surrounding the Great

Hannah Sullivan 6
Barrier Reef. The researches in this study included the contributions of the hydrological cycle,
regional hydrodynamics and metabolism on acidity of the water in the region. The results from
their research predicted that the water surrounding the Great Barrier Reef is likely to be even
more acidic in comparison to the rest of the ocean.Science; new general science data have
been reported by researchers at sydney university of technology (the exposure of the great
barrier reef to ocean acidification). (2016, ).

Consequences of Rising Sea Temperature :

The recent bleaching event of 2016 seemed to grab the attention and cause a panic
amongst society. Bleaching is caused by the rising of the sea temperature. The Great
Barrier Reef is made up of corals that depend on a symbiotic relationship with
zooxanthanalle to provide their nutrients. When the sea temperature rises above 2 degrees
celsius, the hot temperatures make zooxanthellae spoil and become toxic. Coral rejects the
zooxanthellae when it becomes toxic in order to avoid becoming sick but also loses its main
source of nutrition when it does. Without the proper nutrition, coral can not maintain its
aesthetically pleasing colors and turns bone white.

In the past temperature variations have helped corals by making them adapt to handle
such heat pressures better, but the past three decades corals in the Great Barrier Reef have been
experiencing increased stress due to heat. These recent temperature increases have resulted in
intense bleaching of coral organisms. Ash, C. (2016). Thermal stress is when sea temperatures
rise higher than what the sea organisms are adapted for. Mooney, C. (2016). Three hundred and
seventy-two events that have the criteria to qualify as an thermal stress event has occurred just
within the past 27 years. Mooney, C. (2016). Bleaching refers to when coral loses its color. This

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bleaching is a result of rising sea temperatures. Coral depends on algae as their primary source of
nutrition, the rising sea temperatures turn the algae toxic leaving the coral with no form of
nutrient and causing them to turn white. This toxicity can occur from only a rise of two degrees
celsius in the ocean's temperature. This article compares the toxicity of algae to chicken going
bad in your refrigerator, expressing that the algae has no choice but not starve as they could
potentially become sick from the toxic algae. The reef is 1,200 miles long. The major majority of
the Great Barrier Reef is at risk right now. Though the majority of the Great Barrier Reef is at
risk of extinction currently, it is difficult to assess an overall impact as it is a massive natural
formation due to its length meaning different ranges of this formation experience different water
temperatures and are affected at various rates. Some scientist believe that these short burst of
high temperature waters can help coral adapt by becoming more tolerant of higher water
temperatures. ValueWalk: Global warming threatens great barrier reef, coral (2016) .Scientist
discovered that corals have developed a mechanism to protect themselves when they were first
exposed to warm water with an interval of cool water before even warmer temperatures than the
first wave of warm temperatures they were subjected to. The corals that were exposed to these
back and forth waves of temperature reacted to the first wave of high water temperatures by
tapping into particular genes that motivate the growth of algae. This growth of algae is a survival
mechanism as this algae is the corals primary source of nutrition, that the coral typically loses to
high water temperatures. This means that the first wave of higher temperatures triggers the genes
in certain corals to go into survival mode and produce algae to provide nutrition to fight the
future warmer temperatures to come, this is a form of adaptation. This article did mention that
though this might seem like a trend of adoption, it seems it could only matter for particular
species of corals and even those may not be able to withstand higher water temperatures over a

Hannah Sullivan 8

long period of time. Scientist have also mentioned that the findings of this research call for
concern as pushing corals to adapt beyond their natural means is a huge sign of climate change
that we should be aware of. Mooney, C. (2016) Future predictions based off of past bleaching
events of coral may be inaccurate. This inaccuracy occurs because corals may have used a
protective mechanism in the past bleaching events, that made the coral able to withstand the
majority of the damage from the higher sea temperatures. This tolerance is temporary meaning
that if sea temperatures rise corals may lose this protective measure and be more susceptible to
bleaching. Ainsworth, T. D., Heron, S. F., Ortiz, J. C., Mumby, P. J., Grech, A., Ogawa, D., . . .
Leggat, W. (2016). When Researchers compared the data and aerial maps of the 1998 and 2002
bleaching events, they noticed that spatial change of the bleaching had only seen a little under
ten percent change, suggesting that bleaching occurs in clusters. That makes sense considering
that the clusters of coral are more than likely exposed to similar levels of carbon dioxide and
high sea temperatures as their neighbors. In 1998 forty two percent of the overall reef was
bleached but only a little under eighteen percent of the coral was strongly bleached. In the
bleaching event of 2002 around fifty four percent of the overall reef was bleached and still an
average of eighteen percent of the coral was strongly bleached, making the 2002 bleaching event
the worst recorded at the time. Berkelmans, R., Death, G., Kininmonth, S., & Skirving, W. J.
(2004). Bleaching does not necessarily mean death, and if the temperature of the water drops
soon after the bleaching event coral then has a chance to recover, however, if the temperatures
stay consistently high coral will starve to death.Daley, J. (2016, March 22). According to models,
the ocean's temperature in the Indian and part of Pacific Ocean are predicted to stay steady until
about 2017, meaning that the coral could possibly not have time to recover. Daley, J. (2016,
March 22). The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority recently had to introduce the highest

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response, a level three, in order to best manage the extent of bleaching they witnessed. The
university of Queensland were monitoring the coral reefs in northern australia that were
experiencing a bleaching event, the researchers discovered that about ninety to one hundred
percent of the coral on these northern reefs had turned white. This new discovery is what lead the
implementation of level three monitoring. It is important to note that bleaching does not
necessarily constitute death of coral, however could have fatal effects. Daley, J. (2016, March
22). As sea temperatures rise we can only expect these bleaching events to become more frequent
as well as more intense.Ainsworth, T. D., Heron, S. F., Ortiz, J. C., Mumby, P. J., Grech, A.,
Ogawa, D., . . . Leggat, W. (2016).

Terrestrial Runoff:
Agriculture practices such as cattle grazing and sugarcane cultivation involve a
hefty use of pesticides. When it rains these pesticides are washed off the land into the
nearby water systems that lead into the ocean. The consequences of terrestrial runoff have
been studied but solutions are difficult to create to this multi faced problem.
The Australian and Queensland governments tried to manage the problem of terrestrial
runoff in 2003 by issuing a plan that was updated later in 2009. These plans included incentive
based voluntary management which was introduced in 2007, while a state regulatory approach
known as, the reef protection package, was used in 2009. Brodie, J. E., Kroon, F. J., Schaffelke,
B., Wolanski, E. C., Lewis, S. E., Devlin, M. J., . . . Davis, A. M. (2012). The runoff of pesticides
has posed a threat to the water quality of the coastal Great Barrier Reef lagoon. The pesticides
that end up in the coastal waters are mainly from the agriculture methods of beef cattle grazing
and sugarcane cultivation industries. The beef cattle grazing and sugarcane production industries
have greatly expanded in the past thirty to forty years, resulting in a three to seven times increase

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in herbicides. The sugar industry heavily depended on the use of organochlorine insecticides in
the 1950s , which were later banned in 1980 and 90s and yet these are still present in the
sediment surrounding the Great Barrier Reef.Lewis, S. E., Brodie, J. E., Bainbridge, Z. T.,
Rohde, K. W., Davis, A. M., Masters, B. L., . . . Schaffelke, B. (2009).The runoff of soils,

fertilizers, and pesticides from agricultural and coastal development has significantly affected
inshore coral reefs and has likely increased COTS outbreak frequencies. De'ath, G., Fabricius, K.
E., Sweatman, H., and Puotinen, M. (2012).

Overfishing:
The Great Barrier Reef is home to the most diverse ecosystem in the world. The
growth of people and tourism in the Great barrier Reef has resulted in an increase of
fishing. Recreational and commercial fishers are interested in catching trout and snapper,
both of which are predatory fish. A healthy ecosystem must maintain a balance between
predators and prey. Overfishing in the Great Barrier Reef can result in negative
consequences for its ecosystem.

Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at James
Cook University discovered that fishing on the Great Barrier Reef is resulting in profound
changes on reefs fish populations. Recreational and commercial fishers often want to catch trout
and snapper, both of which are predatory fish. At first, this may sound like a positive thing for
the coral reefs, however these fish are predators to coral, but are predators to the herbivore and
smaller prey fish living in the coral reefs. The decrease of predatory fish such as trout and
snapper disrupt the balance of the ecosystem. The less predatory fish there are in the ecosystem
leads to the survival and increase of population for herbivore fish. This study done by the

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researchers from ARC centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University saw
that the ecosystems of reefs that were subjected to intense fishing did see an increase of smaller
herbivorous fish populations. Writers, S. (2015, ). There were six hundred and thirty four illegal
fishing offenses in the Great Barrier Reef in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, this means offenses have
tripled since 2011. Almost all of these offenses in this time period were committed by
recreational fishers. In the Great Barrier Reef a green zone means no fishing, many
recreational fishers claim they dont know the meanings of the zones but it is believed they view
these no fishing zones as a hotspot with an abundance of fish. The purpose of green zones are
to provide a safe area for fish communities to flourish and reproduce, with the expectations that
this increase of fish population will spread out into the legal fishing zones. Fishers who break the
rules not only cause consequences for the ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef, but also for the
recreational fishers who follow the law. Since the consequences are frustrating for fishers who
fish in legal areas only, they have put pressure on the legal system to increase the punishment for
fishers who choose to break these zoning laws.Sparkes, D. (2015, )

Cyclones:
Cyclones cause severe damage to coral reefs that can take decades to recover from.
This is one of the main sources of environmental degradation to the Great Barrier Reef
that isn't directly related to anthropogenic activities.
Cyclones can cause great damage to coral reefs, this damage can take decades to recover
from. Yasi in 2014 was one of the largest ever recorded cyclones to past through the Great
Barrier Reef. The damage associated with cyclone Yasi spread farthest from the storm's path,
than intense cyclones from the past. The intensity of cyclone Yasi resulted in the greatest loss of
coral in the Great Barrier Reef within a twenty four hour time period since 1985. Yasi occurred

Hannah Sullivan 12

in 2011, when researchers compared the coral coverage from after the damage by Yasi in 2011
they estimated only an averaged 4 percent growth since then in 2013. Beeden, R., Maynard, J.,
Puotinen, M., Marshall, P., Dryden, J., Goldberg, J., & Williams, G. (2015). Cyclones are made
of strong winds that cause perturbation in the sea water and causes damage to coral reefs. This
damage includes dislodgement of large colonies, structural damage, breakage of coral colony
branches, and sand burial. Beeden, R., Maynard, J., Puotinen, M., Marshall, P., Dryden, J.,
Goldberg, J., & Williams, G. (2015). Cyclones can have after affects of flooding and intense rain
phases that can result in the expulsion of zooxanthellae which results in coral bleaching.Van
Woesik, R., De Vantier, L., & Glazebrook, J. (1995)
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish Infestations:
The Crown-of-Thorns Starfish is a natural predator to coral reefs.
Crown- of- Thorns Starfish are a natural predator to coral as they prey on hard
corals by eating the flesh and only leaving the skeleton. These creatures earned their
names based off of their bumpy venomous spines. Although the Crown- of-Thorns
starfish are a natural predator and cause partial damage to coral coverage, however, it
is not of great concern as the coral recovers quickly from this attack. The presence of
these predators has been recorded as early as 1960s, but it is not certain where these
outbreaks originally occurred. The main negative effect that resulted from Crown-ofthorns starfish infestations was the shift reefs being majority hard coral coverage to
becoming increasingly algae covered soft coral dominated, which resulted in a decrease
of biodiversity.Endean, R. (1982) In a study from 1998 to 2012 the identified Crown-ofThorn outbreaks to be second most contributor to coral degradation. There is partial
evidence to believe that Crown-of-Thorn outbreaks are often linked to human impacts.

Hannah Sullivan 13

One theory suggests that crown-of-thorn outbreaks occur more frequently as an impact
of, the human activity, fishing. Another theory that suggests a link between human
activities and outbreaks, is that terrestrial runoff makes survival easier for crown of fish
larvae. Wooldridge, S. A., & Brodie, J. E. (2015).One article predicts that coral cover
would increase at .89 % per year without the presence of COTS. ( Crown of thorns
starfish) A natural known predator to the coral reefs. De'ath, G., Fabricius, K. E.,
Sweatman, H., and Puotinen, M. (2012).

Question for further Research:

How long does the Great Barrier Reef have before it is pronounced extinct?
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Hannah Sullivan 14

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