eugene2k
26.05.2021 12:08:10
Ride, walk, carpool or use public transport, and consider a more fuel efficient or environmentally friendly car e.g electric. If you fly, offset your carbon emissions for the trip. here
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Ride, walk, carpool or use public transport, and consider a more fuel efficient or environmentally friendly car e.g electric. If you fly, offset your carbon emissions for the trip. here
The Foundation is a registered Environmental Organisation in Australia and is eligible to receive tax deductible donations. Donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible in Australia provided they are made voluntarily and the donor receives no material benefit for the donation.
© 2021 Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Website by bigfish.tv
Reduce use where you can by turning off power at the wall, choose energy efficient appliances and reduce your heating/cooling – even just by one degree. If you can, choose renewable energy from your power company or install your own solar panels.
Be clever about your energy use
Current research is trying to identify a potential crown-of-thorns “Achilles heel” for controlling these starfish on a large scale. [links]
The Conversation UK receives funding from these organisations
Programs that physically remove individual crown-of-thorns have been attempted since the 1950s. These were based on divers collecting the starfish by hand to dispose of individuals, or by injecting them with chemicals that cause death. However, this treatment required divers to inject each starfish multiple times to be effective, which was time-consuming and costly. here
The near-sighted and deaf crown-of-thorns has a remarkable sense of smell.
The crown-of-thorns’ impact on the reef is basically a numbers game: during an outbreak they may number in the many millions. Since a single adult crown-of-thorns can eat up to 10 square metres of living coral a year, this means a significant loss of coral cover. Coral loss can undermine the ecological integrity of the reef, as well as make the reef less attractive to tourists.
The crown-of-thorns starfish are considered a classical boom (outbreaks) and bust species – somewhat similar to locust plagues. What drives these booms is complex, and not entirely understood. more
The Great Reef Census is a citizen science project managed by Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, which is designed to capture large-scale reconnaissance data from across the world’s most famous Reef, helping to support reef research and management.
The next generation of coral starts as a cutting, about the size of your finger, which are attached to coral tree frames in an ocean-based nursery. The frames accelerate the growth of the corals, which are checked regularly, cleaned and measured to ensure there are no signs of disease. Once the coral cuttings reach a certain size, they are outplanted to degraded reefs that have been identified as high value sites. [links]
The Reef Restoration Foundation’s ‘Coral Crusaders’ have been growing corals on coral tree frames on the fringing reef at Fitzroy island since 2018 and a second nursery has now been established on Hastings Reef, 56km off Cairns. [links]
Australia’s government is investing 500 million Australian dollars (more than $377 million U.S.) to protect the Great Barrier Reef, which has been struggling to cope with storm damage, coral-eating starfish and bleaching events triggered by warmer oceans.
Use environmentally-friendly cleaners and fertilisers. Keep gutters, sinks and drains free of chemicals and rubbish as what washes down sinks and drains could end up on the Reef. Minimise water runoff by planting trees, garden beds and ground cover around your home.
Coral restoration may include to grow asexually or sexually derived corals in land-based or ocean nurseries for later restoration, to directly transplant coral colonies or fragments from intact areas (often to-be construction sites) to degraded reefs, and to transplant corals to substrate stabilization structures after …
The heat led to the bleaching of the corals, in which corals kick out the tiny symbiotic algae housed within them that provide corals food. If the water’s temperature quickly returns to normal, the coral can recover. more
The experts agree: there is no single ‘silver bullet’ solution to fix the Reef. What’s needed is a range of techniques that work together. Techniques that can not only help the world’s largest Reef, but also support coral reef health across the globe and the communities that depend on them.
Conserve water. The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that will eventually find its way back into the ocean. Volunteer in local beach or reef cleanups. If you don’t live near the coast, get involved in protecting your watershed. more