Damage to the Great Barrier Reef will in future, be measured on a scale from one to five, similar to the tropical cyclone system, under a new framework announced by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on Feb. 20.
A ranking of five would indicate widespread bleaching devastation on the reef.
A single-celled algae, called zooxanthellae, lives inside coral, giving it both colour and food. But when the coral experiences stress it expels the algae, causing it to turn white. A bleaching event does not necessarily mean the coral is dead.
Stress can be caused by environmental changes such as increased water temperatures or freshwater flooding....
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