Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world. It is located off the northeastern coast of Australia, stretching almost 2,300 kilometers in length along the mainland shoal. The reef is 2 km wide at the northern end and about 150 km wide at the southern end. This underwater work of art is one of Australia’s most famous and colorful attractions, attracting tourists from around the world every year.
.
The structure of the Great Barrier Reef is formed by billions of tiny organisms known as coral polyps. It is the only result of organisms on earth that can be seen from space! Our planet’s largest coral ecosystem has over 2,900 individual coral reefs and 900 islands in the Coral Sea. The reef covers an area of 348,698 km² (for comparison, the UK covers 244,820 km²). A record number of educational nature films have been made about this huge marine park.
Video: Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef Ecosystem
It is almost impossible to describe the wealth of underwater life that can be found on the Great Barrier Reef!
.The species diversity is astounding! More than 1,500 species of fish, 4,000 mollusks, over 200 species of birds have found their home in the marine park…
The reef’s community of animals is an amazingly diverse one.
The reef animal community includes coelenterates (polyps, jellyfish), many species of mollusks (gastropods, bivalves, cephalopods, etc.), sea turtles, snakes, worms, echinoderms (sea urchins, starfish, snaketails), bottom and free-swimming fish, and marine mammals (dolphins, dugongs).
All this whirlpool of life exists, obeying the strict laws of nature and natural selection, where everyone can be both predator and victim.
.Sharks are also of genuine interest. The Great Barrier Reef is home to a wide variety of marine predators, which are “sanitarians of the coral garden”. On the bottom, squat, carpet, multi-toothed, collar and other types of bottom sharks get food. Here you can see nurse sharks, leopard sharks, catsharks, spiny representatives of these cartilaginous fish. In the water column, among the coral thickets, numerous reef sharks, catching and eating small reef animals and fish. There are also large sharks – sand, hammerhead, lemon and even white sharks. Divers, swimmers and surfers should be especially cautious in these areas.
.
The famous whale shark is also found here! It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest fish on the planet. But you should not be afraid of it: the “sea monster” feeds exclusively on plankton. Dolphins and killer whales are constantly hunting near the reef. Their victims are often the calves of humpback and minke whales. It is near the Great Barrier Reef that humpback whales breed from June to August. Sea turtles, which are currently endangered, lay their eggs on the islands of the reef in the southern part..
All the “tasty” sea creatures – huge octopuses, squid, lobsters, lobsters, also live on the Great Barrier Reef. And recently, truly huge populations of the crown of thorns starfish have been observed. Today, this starfish is the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. In a couple of months, it can destroy large amounts of coral. A graveyard of coral is formed on the site of these stars, which can kill even an adult human with their venom. So far, no really effective methods have been invented to combat the “crown of thorns”, and, unfortunately, the destruction of entire reefs is becoming more and more frequent.
.
In addition to marine life, the coral islands are home to more than 200 species of birds. As for the flora, it is extremely poorly represented. In the area of the reef is barely 40 species of plants that can survive in conditions where even the groundwater is characterized by high salt content. But this shortcoming is more than compensated for by the unique aquatic fauna.
.For all its grandeur and massiveness, the Great Barrier Reef is quite vulnerable. Since its inhabitants are an integral interconnected part of the ecosystem, it is worth the population of one species of creatures sharply decreased or increased – the reef will be in serious danger. This was the case in the 1970s and 1980s, and is still the case today with the dramatic increase in the number of Crown of Thorns starfish.According to a study published in October 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half of the coral polyps that make up its structure since 1985.
.
Another major problem has been massive coral bleaching due to dramatic warming of the water. The algae living in the corals themselves are dying and the symbiosis is broken. The corals are displacing the dead algae, which actually give them such a bright and attractive coloration.
.The Great Barrier Reef is the eighth wonder of the world, worthy of admiration and requiring careful management. It supports life and biodiversity of living organisms, which is why it was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Much of the reefs are protected by the Marine National Park, which helps limit harm from the results of human activities – fishing, pollution, tourism.
.History
The Great Barrier Reef has attracted people since ancient times. As early as about 10,000 years ago, Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders settled on the coral islands.
.
In 1768, French navigator Louis de Bougainville discovered the Great Barrier Reef during an exploratory expedition, but did not claim the rights to its territory for France.Thus, the discoverer of the Great Barrier Reef was the famous explorer James Cook. On June 11, 1770, his ship HM Bark Endeavour ran aground on the reef, sustaining considerable damage. The incoming tide saved the ship and allowed it to continue sailing. This incident left a deep trace in the soul of the navigator; in his diary Cook wrote: “…The dangers which we had previously avoided were insignificant before the threat of being thrown onto the reefs, where in a moment there would be nothing left of the ship”.Continuing north, James Cook discovered near Lizard Island navigable passage and was able to go to the open sea.
. Many ships maneuvering between the coral islands were wrecked. But exploration continued, as the Torres Strait was the route to the major trading cities of India and China, as well as the shortest route from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. For decades, sailors debated which route was safer: the outward route (through the Coral Sea with a passage through the reef) or the inward route (between the shore and the reef). One of the most famous of the Great Barrier Reef wrecks was the HMS Pandora, which sank on August 29, 1791. In 1815, Charles Jeffreys became the first man to sail a ship along the entire Barrier Reef from the landward side. But it was not until the 1840s, after much of the Great Barrier Reef had been explored and mapped in detail, that the route became safer. In the XIX century, scientists began detailed studies of the reef. At the same time, business people arrived here, hoping to realize their commercial potential. By the end of the 19th century, pearls and trepangs from the Great Barrier Reef were already being exported to London, Singapore and Hong Kong. The famous French scientist-traveler Jacques Yves Cousteau also worked extensively here, off the eastern shores of Australia..
Visiting this luxurious marine park, tourists get into a real, colorful, unforgettable fairy tale, which can not be conveyed in photos! We hope that the Great Barrier Reef can be preserved as an ecosystem and our descendants will be able to enjoy this natural masterpiece for decades to come.
.
