Australia's Great Barrier Reef has lost 50% of its coral since
the mid-1980s, much of that because of a ravenous species of
starfish that can each consume some 12 square yards (10 square
meters) of coral in a year, scientists reported Tuesday.
According to a study by the Australian government's Institute of
Marine Sciences and the University of Wollongong, the coral
cover on the world's largest coral reef ecosystem suffered
damage from tropical cyclones (48%), the crown-of-thorns
starfish (42%), and coral bleaching (10%). If current trends
continue, the reef will lose another 50% of its coral in the
next 10 years, the scientists said. Stopping the starfish
infestation is the one thing humans can do that can save the
reef, they said. "We can't stop the storms, and ocean warming
(the primary cause of coral bleaching) is one of the critical
impacts of the global climate change," John Gunn, chief
executive officer of the institute, said in a press release.
"However, we can act to reduce the impact of crown of tho