Super coral may save reefs

Caitriona Murtagh, cairns.com.au 29 Apr 08;

STRAINS of super coral capable of bouncing back after bleaching could replenish reefs ravaged by rising sea temperatures, a conference of reef and rainforest scientists will hear this week.

The resilient coral, able to regrow after bleaching caused by warmer waters, is among a wealth of science solutions to reef and rainforest management on the table at the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility conference under way in Cairns this week.

"We may be able to rebuild with adaptable coral," Sheriden Morris, managing director of organising body the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre, said.

"You can actually say, if an area is damaged and they want to replant the coral in those areas, restock those areas with new corals, but use corals that are better adapted to higher temperatures."

Data to be released at conference will also reveal a spike in the number of coral bleachings likely to occur between now and 2050.

"It's more bleaching than what we’d originally predicted," Ms Morris said.

But she added:"Don't just think it’s all over for the reef.

"We know there are serious threats, but there are ways of responding and ways we can respond locally."

The 300 scientists attending the conference will also review climate change models created specifically to predict future weather patterns on the Great Barrier Reef.

The models show more hot days and cyclones of greater intensity. "And the cyclones will move to the southern areas of the reef," Ms Morris said.

The conference, convened to share research on threats facing reef and rainforest, will run until Thursday.

"The reef and rainforest collectively generates $8 billion yearly for Queensland and employs over 50,000 people, so the health of these systems are extremely important," Ms Morris said.