![]() ![]() One group of illnesses, called white syndromes, causes coral tissues to fall off, leaving behind a skeleton. ![]() (Learn more about major coral reef diseases.) Months of bathing in a sediment slurry stressed the coral reefs to a chronic degree, leaving them vulnerable to various tissue-rotting diseases. Researchers found that sediment plumes kicked up by dredging activities-workers scooping up the seafloor to make deeper shipping channels for larger vessels-resulted in a twofold increase in coral reef diseases near Barrow Island (map) in northwest Australia. The new study provides evidence supporting those concerns. (See also: "Australia to Dump Dredged Sand in Great Barrier Reef Waters, Adding to Site's Mounting Woes.") The concerns over the Great Barrier Reef are partly the result of port expansion plans in the state of Queensland that would dump the resulting sediment close to the marine ecosystem. ![]() (See: "Great Barrier Reef: World Heritage in Danger?") This designation applies to World Heritage sites that are threatened with the destruction or loss of the characteristics-either ecological or cultural-that earned them World Heritage status in the first place. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the body that manages the World Heritage Site listings, has threatened for the last two years to place the reef on the World Heritage in Danger list. The connection between cloudy, sediment-laden water and stressed reefs was already known, but the new study's focus on the consequences of disrupting coastal waters during a large, prolonged project is especially important right now because the fate of an international icon, the Great Barrier Reef on Australia's northeast coast, hangs in the balance. Activities such as building or expanding ports tend to muddy the waters, choking off corals' access to light and food. That's the conclusion of a new study looking at the effects of dredging projects on reefs in northwest Australia, reported today in the journal PLoS ONE.Ĭoral reefs need clear, warm water to thrive. Australia's coral reefs are in danger, due in part to the expansion of ports to accommodate the growing number of ships loaded with coal or natural gas. ![]()
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