This measure describes the proportion of the seafloor that is covered in live hard coral. One of the most common is to use percent hard coral cover as an ‘indicator’ of reef condition because it describes the abundance of a critical ecosystem engineer on coral reefs. There are many ways to measure the status of coral reefs. Significant coral bleaching is predicted above 4 DHW and coral mortality is expected above 8 DHW. Therefore, while the observed recovery offers good news for the overall state of the GBR, there is increasing concern for its ability to maintain this state.ġ DHW expresses the accumulated heat stress over the previous three months by adding up the time when temperature exceeds the bleaching threshold. The prognosis for the future disturbance regime suggests increasing and longer-lasting marine heatwaves, as well as the ongoing risk of outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish and tropical cyclones. However, the reefs of the GBR continue to be exposed to cumulative stressors.
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