Status: 08/20/2021 12:01 p.m.
“Big Coral” – the Aboriginal name of the new discovery on the Australian Great Barrier Reef sounds almost humble. In fact, the coral recently described by researchers is gigantic – and one of the oldest on the reef.
Researchers have discovered a gigantic coral on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. At more than ten meters, it is the widest coral recorded there so far, reports the team in the specialist magazine “Scientific Reports”. With a height of 5.3 meters, it is also the sixth highest measured coral of the entire reef – and several hundred years old.
The hard coral near Orpheus Island belongs to the genus Porites. 30 percent of its surface is covered with sponges and algae, reports Adam Smith’s group from James Cook University in Douglas.
Many threats to the coral reef
The growth of Porites corals largely depends on the average sea surface temperature. In coordination with the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the researchers calculated an annual increase in height of 1.21 centimeters for the giant coral. At the height of 5.3 meters, this resulted in an age of 438 years. “This is well before European exploration and colonization of Australia,” the researchers write. The AIMS determined the age of 328 colonies of massive Porites corals and determined a maximum age of 436 years. The coral discovered is therefore also one of the oldest on the Great Barrier Reef.
Scientists named the coral “Muga Dhambi”, which means “large coral” in the language of the Manbarra Aboriginal people living in the area. “Muga Dhambi” is believed to have survived 99 coral bleaching that has occurred on the reef since 1575. From 1858 to 2008, 46 tropical cyclones were also recorded in this area, which apparently could not harm the coral. “Looking to the future, there is real coral concern on the Great Barrier Reef due to many impacts including climate change, deteriorating water quality, overfishing and coastal development,” write Smith and colleagues.