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09.06.2021 4:01:07
The traditional custodians of Palm Island, the Manbarra people, have named the coral Muga dhambi. The name translates to “Big coral”. [links]
See full version: Great Barrier Reef: scientists discover 400-year-old giant coral
The traditional custodians of Palm Island, the Manbarra people, have named the coral Muga dhambi. The name translates to “Big coral”. [links]
Muga dhambi has been described in the journal Scientific Reports this week with co-authors that included 17-year-old Kailash Cook, who helped measure the coral during the dive, and the “godfather of coral”, 76-year-old Dr Charlie Veron, who helped identify it. [links]
“It’s a bit like finding a giant redwood tree in the middle of a botanic gardens,” Smith said. “James Cook University has a research station at Orpheus Island and there’s been 600 scientific papers written on corals, fish and seaweed in the area. here
Smith said local fishers and researchers had known about the coral for some time but until that moment no one had looked closer. here
While it isn’t the largest coral in the world, the James Cook University adjunct associate professor and managing director of Reef Ecologic, Adam Smith, said it was significant to the ecosystem.
Scientists and community members participating in a marine citizen science course studied and measured the coral. Photograph: Richard Woodgett more
In July, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said it would not list the Great Barrier Reef as endangered following two days of deliberations. here
It’s part of the Porites genus and 70% of it is live, having survived 80 cyclones, coral bleaching and other events
The structure, made up of small marine animals and calcium carbonate, is just over 17 feet tall, the sixth largest in the Great Barrier Reef, researchers said.
The study was published today in the journal Scientific Reports. [links]
It was discovered by snorkelers off Goolboodi (also known as Orpheus Island), part of the Palm Island Group in Queensland, Australia.
We hope our research will mean current and future generations care for this wonder of nature, and respect the connections of Manbarra Traditional Owners to their Sea Country.
However, cataloguing the location of massive corals could lead to them being damaged by anchoring, research and pollution from visiting boats.
We measured the structure at 5.3 metres tall and 10.4 metres wide. This makes it 2.4 metres wider than the widest Great Barrier Reef coral previously measured by scientists.
Muga dhambi is located in a relatively remote, rarely visited and highly protected marine area. It was found during citizen science research in March this year, on a reef slope not far from shore.
Muga dhambi’s height suggests it is aged between 421 and 438 years old – far pre-dating European exploration and settlement of Australia. We made this calculation based on rock coral growth rates and annual sea surface temperatures.
We found marine debris at the base of Muga dhambi, comprising rope and three concrete blocks. Such debris is a threat to the marine environment and species such as corals. here
Muga dhambi is in very good health with 70% of it consisting of live coral. "The large Porites coral at Goolboodi (Orpheus) Island is unusually rare and resilient," the study said. "It has survived coral bleaching, invasive species, cyclones, severely low tides and human activities for almost 500 years."
The Great Barrier Reef is under threat from rising ocean temperatures spurred by the human-caused climate crisis. Parts of the reef have died and researchers have been working on ways to save it from destruction and help the coral recover. Scientists are studying heat-resistant coral and looking at ways to curb explosions of predatory starfish.
The Porites (a genus of coral) specimen is located in the Palm Islands in Queensland, Australia. The Indigenous Manbarra people, traditional custodians of the area, named it Muga dhambi (big coral). "It is the widest and sixth tallest coral measured in the Great Barrier Reef," according to a statement Thursday by Springer Nature, publisher of a study on the coral in the journal Scientific Reports.
You've heard of chonky cats , but how about chonky coral? Researchers have measured a piece of coral that's the "chonkiest" yet discovered in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
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Coral can create entire underwater metropolises. Last year, scientists with Schmidt Ocean announced the discovery of a coral reef taller than the Empire State Building . The Great Barrier Reef is a massive system of coral reefs that covers an area of about 133,000 square miles (344,000 square kilometers). here