A team of international researchers have discovered that corals in the Great Barrier Reef have a lower tolerance to heat stress than expected, contributing to a permanent transformation of a mix of species in some of the most pristine regions.
Dome-shaped porites corals were found to be relatively resilient to the researchers test on how much abnormal heat triggers bleaching, and testing revealed how much heat stress is required before coral species can’t transition to survive.
A paper published in Nature by Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, Professor Terry Hughes said "The 2016 marine heatwave has triggered the initial phase of that transition on the northern,most pristine region of the Great Barrier Reef, changing it forever as the intensity of global warming continues to escalate."