2 ms·

I don't remember the source, but (IIRC) the problem with this is that the monitoring of the coral cover is conducted from boats at a height, and it doesn't take

• myshpa 3y ago
  I have found the source. https://theconversation.com/record-coral-cover-doesnt-necessarily-mean-the-great-barrier-reef-is-in-good-health-despite-what-you-may-have-heard-188233 https://theconversation.com/record-coral-cover-doesnt-necess... The finding of high coral cover may signify a reef in good condition, and an increase in coral cover after disturbance may signify a recovering reef. But in this instance, it’s more likely the reef is being dominated by only few species, as the report states that branching and plating Acropora species have driven the recovery of coral cover. ... However, these same corals are often susceptible to wave damage, disease or coral bleaching and tend to go bust within a few years. ... Inferring that a reef has recovered by a person being towed behind a boat to obtain a rapid visual estimate of coral cover is like flying in a helicopter and saying a bushfire-hit forest has recovered because the canopy has grown back. It provides no information about diversity, or the abundance and health of other animals and plants that live in and among the trees, or coral. ... Without more information at the level of individual species, it is impossible to understand how much of the Great Barrier Reef has been lost, or recovered, since the last mass bleaching event.