Date: 2/6/2009
Marine scientists are astonished at the spectacular recovery of certain coral reefs in Australiaâs Great Barrier Reef Marine Park from a devastating coral bleaching event in 2006. High sea temperatures caused severe coral bleaching. The damaged reefs in the Keppel Islands were smothered by a species of seaweed. The corals have spectacularly re-established within a year. Dr Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, from The University of Queensland and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoECRS) said the rapid recovery was due to the exceptionally high re-growth of surviving coral tissue, the unusual seasonal dieback in the seaweeds, and the presence of a highly competitive coral species which outgrew the seaweed.