An astonishingly largecoral – the widest ever identify in theGreat Barrier Reef – has been discovered off the coast of Goolboodi , one of the Palm Islands in Queensland , Australia .
Aptly namedMuga dhambi(Big coral ) , it is also the 6th tallestPoritescoral mensurate in the Great Barrier Reef . The discovery is report in the journalScientific Reports .
At 10.4 metre ( 34 feet ) wide and 5.3 meters ( 17 feet ) tall , the hemispherical heavyweight is at least 2.4 meters wider than the next wide of the mark precious coral quantify in the Reef . It ’s a fierce challenger in the “ chonkiest precious coral in the Pacific ” contest too ; one monumental coral place in American Samoa measure a whopping 17 meters ( 56 feet ) by 12 meters ( 39 feet ) , and another off Sesoko Island , Japan was 11 meter ( 36 foot ) in diam .
As well as being exceptionally prominent , Muga dhambiis also exceptionally healthy , with over 70 pct live coral cover and only minor coverage by sponge , hot coral rock , and macroalgae . The study cover no evidence ofdiseaseorbleaching , either . Not sorry consider its age is estimated to be between 421 and 438 year . At more than four 100 old , this precede European colonization of Australia and makes it one of the oldest precious coral on the Great Barrier Reef to be recorded .
During those four 100 or so , the colossal coral has n’t had the gentle drive . The authors calculate thatM. dhambiwill have receive almost 100 discolourise issue and up to 80 major cyclones in its time , as well as declining water quality .
“ The largePoritescoral at Goolboodi … Island is unusually rarefied and resilient , ” the study author write . “ It has live coral bleaching , incursive species , cyclone , severely low tides , and human activeness for almost 500 age . ”
Who knows what the next 500 years will bring forMuga dhambi , but if the fate of other precious coral in the Great Barrier Reef is anything to go by , it’snot look great . Last twelvemonth , scientist predictedthat almost all coral reef habitats could be gone by the end of the century , thanks to sea acidification , human activities such as overfishing , coastal development , and , of course , clime change .
The writer of the current cogitation hope that in tie attending to the rarefied giantthey can inspire succeeding exertion to make unnecessary it , and other coral reefs like it . They pen that they provide the necessary information for it to be “ supervise , appreciate , potentially rejuvenate and hopefully inspire future generations to care more for our reefs and acculturation . ”
