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Great Barrier Reef
Description
The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction
An aerial view of Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia
Sourse: Edward Haylan/Shutterstock
As the world’s most extensive coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef is a globally outstanding and significant entity. Practically the entire ecosystem was inscribed as World Heritage in 1981, covering an area of 348,000 square kilometres and extending across a contiguous latitudinal range of 14o (10oS to 24oS). The Great Barrier Reef (hereafter referred to as GBR) includes extensive cross-shelf diversity, stretching from the low water mark along the mainland coast up to 250 kilometres offshore. This wide depth range includes vast shallow inshore areas, mid-shelf and outer reefs, and beyond the continental shelf to oceanic waters over 2,000 metres deep.
Great Barrier Reef as seen from above. Source: AAP
The latitudinal and cross-shelf diversity, combined with diversity through the depths of the water column, encompasses a globally unique array of ecological communities, habitats and species. This diversity of species and habitats, and their interconnectivity, make the GBR one of the richest and most complex natural ecosystems on earth. There are over 1,500 species of fish, about 400 species of coral, 4,000 species of mollusk, and some 240 species of birds, plus a great diversity of sponges, anemones, marine worms, crustaceans, and other species. No other World Heritage property contains such biodiversity. This diversity, especially the endemic species, means the GBR is of enormous scientific and intrinsic importance, and it also contains a significant number of threatened species. Attime of inscription, the IUCN evaluation stated “… if only one coral reef site in the world were to be chosen for the World Heritage List, the Great Barrier Reef is the site to be chosen”.
A yellow-and-white beaked Coralfish swims at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
Sourse: Tanya Puntti / Shutterstock
Within the GBR there are some 2,500 individual reefs of varying sizes and shapes, and over 900 islands, ranging from small sandy cays and larger vegetated cays, to large rugged continental islands rising, in one instance, over 1,100 metres above sea level. Collectively these landscapes and seascapes provide some of the most spectacular maritime scenery in the world.
Cruising to the Great Barrier Reef
Sourse: Cruiseexperts
1 OF 7
nature wonders of the world
Largest
living structure on the planet, so big it’s visible from space.
1981
the Reef was World Heritage listed
70M
football fields would fit inside the marine park
2000m
depth on outer reefs
348,000km2
of World Heritage Listed area, which is slightly more than the 344,400 km2 Great Barrier Reef Marine Park area because it also includes some 980 islands, internal waters, intertidal areas and other state waters.
Sourse: Jumbo Aerial
7%
of the World Heritage area is made up of coral reefs. The rest is an extraordinary variety of marine habitats ranging from shallow inshore areas – such as seagrass, mangroves, sand, algal and sponge gardens, and inter-reefal communities – to deep oceanic areas more than 250 km offshore.
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