Fate of Australia’s wildlife in the balance

Reef life: The Great Barrier Reef is widely known as one of the great wonders of the natural world, but it is exposed to a wide range of threats both from ocean warming and from land-use changes in Queensland. (Photo: LCDR Eric Johnson, NOAA Corps.) The Great Barrier Reef spans a length greater than Italy and thus counts as the largest structure created by living beings. It is a World Heritage site and an icon of Australia’s outstanding natural wealth. It is also becoming a symbol of the dangers that ecosystems in that area are facing right now. The current El Niño, possibly the most powerful one so far (Curr. Biol. (2016) 26, R47–R50), has now overheated waters around the Great Barrier Reef for long enough to trigger another wave of coral bleaching. On March 14th, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority increased the threat level from level 1 to level 2. The northern parts of the reef system are said to be most severely affected this time, while southern parts, south of the city of Cairns, are benefi ting from the relief brought by cooler and cloudier weather.