The Great Barrier Reef. 10 Facts you may not know!

#1

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, consisting of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands spanning over 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) and covering an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometers (133,000 sq mi).

#2

The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, and is separated from the coast by a channel that is up to 100 miles wide and over 200 feet deep in places. The Great Barrier Reef, which can be seen from space, is the world’s largest single structure built by living organisms.

#3

This reef structure is made up of and constructed by billions of tiny organisms called coral polyps. It supports a diverse range of life and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1981.

#4

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects a large portion of the reef, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism. Runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, dumping of dredging sludge, and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish are among the other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem.

#5

According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in October 2012, the reef has lost more than half of its coral cover since 1985, a finding reaffirmed by a 2020 study that found more than half of the reef’s coral cover lost between 1995 and 2017, with the effects of a widespread 2020 bleaching event not yet quantified.

#6

Google has released Google Underwater Street View 3D of the Great Barrier Reef.

#7

The percentage of baby corals born on the Great Barrier Reef fell dramatically in 2018, prompting scientists to describe it as the beginning of a “huge natural selection event unfolding.” Many mature breeding adults died during the 2016-17 bleaching events, resulting in low coral birth rates. The types of corals that reproduced changed as well, potentially resulting in a “long-term reorganization of the reef ecosystem if the trend continues.”

#8

The Great Barrier Reef is home to a diverse range of life, including many vulnerable or endangered species, some of which may be endemic to the reef system. The Great Barrier Reef has been home to thirty different species of cetaceans, including the dwarf minke whale, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, and humpback whale. There are large populations of dugongs there.

#9

The green sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, flatback turtle, and olive ridley all come to the reef to breed. The Great Barrier Reef is home to two genetically distinct populations of green sea turtles, one in the north and one in the south.

#10

Saltwater crocodiles live near the reef in mangroves and salt marshes. Nesting has not been reported, and the GBRWHA saltwater crocodile population is diverse but sparse. The reef is home to approximately 125 different species of shark, stingray, skate, and chimera. On the reef, nearly 5,000 mollusk species have been identified, including the giant clam and various nudibranchs and cone snails. There are 49 pipefish species and nine seahorse species recorded. The islands are home to at least seven different types of frogs.