Great Barrier Reef Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The Largest Coral reef system in the world, the Great Barrier Reef, is located in the Coral Sea off the east coast of Queensland in northeast Australia, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. As coral is a living organism, it has been said that the Great Barrier Reef is the single largest organism in the world, although others argue coral is merely a collection of millions of small organisms. As a result, there have been some suggestions that the Great Barrier Reef could more appropriately be named the Great Barrier Reef Systems.

The Great Barrier Reef is believed to have started growing on top of an older platform about 18,000 years ago, at which time the sea level was about 330 feet lower than it is today. A few of the islands along the reef have old upraised coral rock as much as 25 feet above the low water mark. The Reef extends from the mouth of the Fly River in Papua New Guinea, down to Lady Elliot Island in Queensland. In the northern region the reef forms a continuous line along the edge of the continental shelf, and by the time one reaches the southern region, the reefs are well distributed over the marginal shelf. It stretches a total of 1,616 miles, and has been divided by scientists into about 3,000 separate reefs and 900 islands. As a result of this, there is a certain degree of reef diversity within a complex geological framework.

Hazardous-and Wonderous

Since its first discovery, the Great Barrier Reef has long been a recognized hazard for shipping. The HMS Endeavour of Captain James Cook ran aground on the reef on June 11, 1770, sustaining much damage. In 1789, when Captain Bligh was put in a longboat after the mutiny on the HMS Bounty, he had to be careful to steer his craft so that it did not hit the reef-a feat that he managed, making it one of the most remarkable open boat voyages in history. Unfortunately, the avenging HMS Pandora commanded by Edward Edwards was not so lucky. It hit the reef on August 29, 1791, and went down with a large loss of life-including some of the mutineers. The wreck was discovered in November 1977, and has been the subject of extensive archaeological work.

The first detailed scientific study of the Great Barrier Reef was in 1843 when J. Bette Jukes, a naturalist on HMS Fly compiled a survey. Since then there have been further studies and surveys, with the Great Barrier Reef Committee formed in 1922 to sponsor and also conduct its own investigations into the nature and the origin of reef. In 1928-29, the Royal Society in London conducted a large number of biological and geographical surveys, and a marine biology station was established on Heron Island, subsequently run by the University of Queensland. Another research station was subsequently built on Lizard Island, and run by the Australian Museum. James Cook University, which conducted the work on the HMS Pandora, runs the third research station on Orpheus Island.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority was established in 1976 under the auspices of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975, which allows for no drilling or mining activity within the areas declared to be parts of the National Park. The Great Barrier Reef is now managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, in conjunction with the Government of Queensland. They have conducted extensive surveys and introduced zoning restrictions on all of the reef area.

The reef supports many different species, including 30 different species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises, including the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin, the Humpback Whale, and the Dwarf Minke Whale. There are also a large population of dugongs and six different species of turtles: the Flatback, Green Sea, Hawksbill, Leatherback, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, and the Olive Ridley Turtle. There are also about 17 different species of sea snakes, 150 different species of echinoderms, 350 different species of corals, 1,500 different species of fish (including the Clownfish, Red Bass, and Red-Throat Emperor), and some 5,000 different species of mollusks, 10,000 different species of sponges, and 500 different species of marine algae and seaweed. The terrestrial flora is limited to about 30-40 species.

The Great Barrier Reef is a major tourist attraction in Australia, and income from tourists generates as much as $5 billion each year. Estimates of the number of tourists have been put at two million, although this certainly involves some “doublecounting” of tourists visiting one or more sites. Voyages to the reef involve viewing from ships, glass-bottomed boats, helicopters, and airplanes. Many others enjoy scuba diving around the reef. When Indonesian President Abdul Rahman Wahid was asked about his biggest regret at losing his sight, he replied that it prevented him from seeing the Great Barrier Reef.

Although much of tourism is controlled, there are also worries about the sheer numbers of visitors; some irresponsible people have damaged the reef. The Queensland government response has not been to ban or limit visits to the reef, but to better police and regulate them.

Bibliography:

Isabel Bennett, The Great Barrier Reef (Lansdowne, 1971);
James Bowen, The Great Barrier Reef: History, Science, Heritage (Cambridge University Press, 2002);
Edgar Frankel, A Bibliography of the Great Barrier Reef (Australian Government Publishing Service 1977);
W.G.H. Maxwell, Atlas of the Great Barrier Reef (Elsevier, 1968);
Eric Worrell, The Great Barrier Reef (Angus & Robertson, 1966).