Scientists to Create Techniques to Save the Great Barrier Reef From Dying

With the alarming news that Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in the brink of death, scientists are formulating live-saving techniques to prevent coral death and the declining population of marine life.

According to Science World Report, experts are researching for possible technique to save the reef. Mark Eakin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coral Reef Watch Coordinator, notes that most reefs would experience coral bleaching every other year, depending if global warming continues or if techniques would be used to stop it.

For coral biologist Ruth Gates from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, the solution to coral bleaching is a new breed of corals that have high tolerance to stress. With the new strain of corals, reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef, could withstand drastic changes in temperature.

Apart from growing a new strain of stress-tolerant corals, Peter Harrison, a marine scientists from Southern Cross University, has also come up with a way to save coral reefs damaged by dynamite fishing. Harrison pumps out healthy coral sperm and eggs and floods them in the affected area, Greensburg Daily News reports.

Coral reefs plays a key role in the marine ecosystem as they provide food and shelter to various aquatic species. Coral bleaching, like what happened to the Great Barrier Reef, poses an imminent danger to the environment as most coral reefs need a large amount of time, thousands of years even, to regrow and recover.

To learn more about coral reefs and the effect of climate change, check out the video below.