Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Ecosystem

Great Barrier Reef

Marine and Coral Reef

The world's largest coral reef ecosystem, a network of nearly three thousand individual reefs and hundreds of islands stretching along Australia's northeastern coast, visible from space and built over thousands of years by colonies of tiny coral polyps depositing calcium carbonate skeletons. It supports an immense concentration of marine life, including thousands of fish species, hundreds of coral species, sea turtles and dugongs, all dependent on the reef-building corals that form the ecosystem's physical foundation. Rising ocean temperatures have triggered repeated mass coral bleaching events in recent decades, in which heat-stressed corals expel the symbiotic algae that give them both color and much of their food supply, and severe or repeated bleaching can kill the coral outright, making the reef one of the most closely monitored indicators of ocean warming worldwide. This entry describes the reef as a living ecosystem; its physical extent as a landform sits with the Geography atlas.

Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm
Australasian 1
Protected Status
Managed or Multiple-Use Protection 2
Area (sq km)
344,400 1
Great Barrier Reef
Filter Results31 entries
Connections

Demonstrates

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered repeated mass bleaching events during marine heatwaves.

Source Coral Bleaching (NOAA Ocean Service)

El Nino-linked ocean warming was the principal driver of the mass coral bleaching events documented on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998, 2016 and 2017, making it a well-studied case of ENSO's effect on a marine ecosystem.

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Recorded for the reef's bioerosion process specifically (parrotfish grazing and boring organisms), the living-world facet of erosion, not the reef's exposure to wave or storm erosion generally.

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Source What Is Ocean Acidification (NOAA OA Program)
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Hosts

Source Wikipedia: Amphiprion akindynos
Source Black-naped Tern (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Sepia latimanus account
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Carukia barnesi
Source Chambered Nautilus (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Cinnamon clownfish
Source Wikidata: Seahorse
Additional Source Great Barrier Reef - WikipediaArticle text
Dugong, Species
Source Dugong (Wikipedia)
Source Flatback Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)
Source Greater crested tern (Wikipedia)
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source FishBase: Gymnocranius audleyi (FishBase)
Source Hawksbill sea turtle, Wikipedia
Source Wikidata: Seahorse
Additional Source Great Barrier Reef - WikipediaArticle text
Source Wikidata: Seahorse
Additional Source Great Barrier Reef - WikipediaArticle text
Source Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Maroon clownfish
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Wikipedia: Orange clownfish
Source Wikipedia: Orange-fin anemonefish
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Pseudobiceros bedfordi
Source Wikipedia: Pink skunk clownfish
Source Spirula (Wikipedia)
Source Schindleria brevipinguis (Wikipedia)
Sea Cucumber, Species
Source Sea cucumber - Wikipedia
Sea Sponge, Species
Source Sponge, Wikipedia
Seahorse, Species
Source Wikidata: Seahorse
Additional Source Great Barrier Reef - WikipediaArticle text
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Acropora cervicornis (Animal Diversity Web)
Stingray, Species
Source Wikidata: Seahorse
Additional Source Great Barrier Reef - WikipediaArticle text
Trichoplax, Species
Source Wikipedia: Trichoplax
Source Wikipedia: Nautilus stenomphalus

In Biome

Marine, Biomes
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Long-Form Articles

In the Other Atlases

Same As

Also in Geography Atlas: the same subject.

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationtier 1

Found In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • nesdis.noaa.gov/news/the-great-barrier-reef, article body
    So extensive, it is visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem. Stretching 2,300 km along Australia's northeast coastline, this complex of shallow water reefs and islands is home to thousands of species of fish, invertebrates, algae, reptiles, birds, and algae.
  • Biogeographic realm: australasian (derived from location stated in entity description)
  • In Biome: Marine
  • Demonstrates: Symbiosis
  • Demonstrates: Erosion
  • Demonstrates: El Nino-Southern Oscillation
View the Source
2. Great Barrier Reef - Wikipedia
  • Introduction
    was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981
  • Hosts: Seahorse, Article text
    Forty-nine species of pipefish and nine species of seahorse have been recorded.
  • Hosts: Stingray, Article text
    Around 125 species of shark, stingray, skates or chimaera live on the reef.
  • Hosts: Leatherback Sea Turtle, Article text
    Six species of sea turtles come to the reef to breed: the green sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, flatback turtle, and the olive ridley.
  • Hosts: Crown-of-thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci), Article text
    Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff of humanmade pollutants, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, dumping of dredging sludge and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish.
  • Hosts: Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Article text
    Thirty species of cetaceans have been recorded in the Great Barrier Reef, including the dwarf minke whale, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, and the humpback whale.
View the Source
Coral Bleaching (NOAA Ocean Service)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: Coral BleachingView the Source
What Is Ocean Acidification (NOAA OA Program)
NOAA Ocean Acidification ProgramDemonstrates: Ocean Acidification, A Timeline of Evidence section
Quote, Demonstrates: Ocean Acidification, A Timeline of Evidence section
Over the past 250 years, the ocean has become about 26% more acidic on average globally.
World Wildlife Fund
World Wildlife Fund
  • Hosts: Green Sea Turtle
  • Hosts: Ocellaris Clownfish
View the Source
Wikipedia: Nautilus stenomphalus
  • Hosts: White-patch Nautilus, Wikipedia intro: "utilus stenomphalus, also known as the white-patch nautilus, is a species of nautilus native to the Great Barrier Reef. N. stenomphalus is very similar to N. po..."
  • Hosts: White-patch Nautilus, Article text: "Nautilus stenomphalus, also known as the white-p"
    Nautilus stenomphalus, also known as the white-patch nautilus, is a species of nautilus native to the Great Barrier Reef.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Maroon clownfish
Hosts: Maroon Clownfish, Wikipedia intro: "ish, is a species of anemonefish found in the Indo-Pacific from western Indonesia to Taiwan and the Great Barrier Reef. They can grow up to be about 17 cm (6.7..."View the Source
Wikipedia: Orange-fin anemonefish
Hosts: Orange-fin Anemonefish, Wikipedia intro: "e family Pomacentridae, the clownfishes and damselfishes, found in the Western Pacific north of the Great Barrier Reef from the surface to 20 m, to include the..."View the Source
Wikipedia: Amphiprion akindynos
Hosts: Barrier Reef Anemonefish, Wikipedia intro: "indynos, the Barrier Reef anemonefish, is a species of anemonefish that is principally found in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, but also in nearby location..."View the Source
Schindleria brevipinguis (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Schindleria brevipinguis, Wikipedia intro: "fish in family Gobiidae of Perciformes. Known as the stout infantfish, it is native to Australia's Great Barrier Reef and to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea."View the Source
Dugong (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Dugong, Australia
Quote, Hosts: Dugong, Australia
The Great Barrier Reef provides important feeding areas for the species; this reef area houses a stable population of around 10,000, although the population concentration has shifted over time.
View the Source
Chambered Nautilus (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Chambered Nautilus, Subspecies
Quote, Hosts: Chambered Nautilus, Subspecies
The distribution of N. p. pompilius covers the Andaman Sea east to Fiji and southern Japan south to the Great Barrier Reef.
View the Source
Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHosts: Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Distribution
Eastern Australia and Japan are the major nesting areas, with the Great Barrier Reef deemed an important nesting area.
View the Source
Hawksbill sea turtle, Wikipedia
Hosts: Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Indo-Pacific subpopulation
Quote, Hosts: Hawksbill Sea Turtle, Indo-Pacific subpopulation
In Australia, hawksbills are known to nest on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef.
View the Source
Sea cucumber - Wikipedia
Hosts: Sea Cucumber, Commercial harvest
Quote, Hosts: Sea Cucumber, Commercial harvest
Overfishing of sea cucumbers in the Great Barrier Reef is threatening their population.
View the Source
Sponge, Wikipedia
Hosts: Sea Sponge, Defenses
Quote, Hosts: Sea Sponge, Defenses
Many sponges shed spicules, forming a dense carpet several meters deep that keeps away echinoderms which would otherwise prey on the sponges.
View the Source
Flatback Sea Turtle (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Flatback Sea Turtle, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Flatback Sea Turtle, Distribution and habitat
The main nesting sites in this range are the southern Great Barrier Reef, Wild Duck, and Curtis Island.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Orange clownfish
Hosts: Orange Clownfish, Lead
Quote, Hosts: Orange Clownfish, Lead
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority regulates the number of collection permits issued to aquarium fish dealers who seek this, and other tropical fish within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Pink skunk clownfish
WikipediaHosts: Pink Skunk Clownfish, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Pink Skunk Clownfish, Distribution and habitat
A. perideraion is found throughout the Malay Archipelago and Melanesia, in the west Pacific Ocean from the Great Barrier Reef and Tonga, north to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and in the eastern Indian Ocean from Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, through the Rowley Shoals, Scott and Ashmore Reefs, Cocos and Christmas Islands to Sumatra.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Cinnamon clownfish
Hosts: Cinnamon Clownfish, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Cinnamon Clownfish, Distribution and habitat
A. melanopus is widely distributed in the western Pacific, from the Great Barrier Reef north to the Marshall Islands and Guam, New Guinea and from Vanuatu and New Caledonia to eastern Indonesia.
View the Source
Greater crested tern (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Greater Crested Tern, Feeding
Quote, Hosts: Greater Crested Tern, Feeding
A study of an area of the Great Barrier Reef where the number of breeding great crested terns has grown ten-fold, probably due to extra food from trawl by-catch, suggested that lesser crested and sooty terns have moved away and now breed on a part of the reef where fishing is banned.
View the Source
Black-naped Tern (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Black-naped Tern, Laying period
Quote, Hosts: Black-naped Tern, Laying period
Egg laying begins in India and Polynesia in May, followed by colonies in the Philippines in July, north-east Australia in September, oceanic Indian colonies from September to November, and the Great Barrier Reef from November to December.
View the Source
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Pseudobiceros bedfordi
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Persian Carpet Flatworm, Geographic Range
Quote, Hosts: Persian Carpet Flatworm, Geographic Range
They are rarely seen but most reports have reported sightings on the Great Barrier Reef, the coast of Guam, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Australia.
View the Source
Spirula (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Ram's Horn Squid, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Ram's Horn Squid, Distribution and habitat
The species was observed for the first time in its natural habitat in 2020, when an ROV of the Schmidt Ocean Institute recorded it in the depths near the northern Great Barrier Reef.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Trichoplax
WikipediaHosts: Trichoplax, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Trichoplax, Distribution and habitat
Trichoplax has been collected, among other places, in the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean, off Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, Japan, Vietnam, Brazil, and Papua New Guinea, and on the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia.
View the Source
FishBase: Gymnocranius audleyi (FishBase)
FishBaseHosts: Gymnocranius audleyi, Distribution
Quote, Hosts: Gymnocranius audleyi, Distribution
Western Pacific: Australia (east coast of southern Queensland and the southern half of the Great Barrier Reef).
View the Source
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Sepia latimanus account
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Broadclub Cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus), Geographic Range
Quote, Hosts: Broadclub Cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus), Geographic Range
More specifically, broadclub cuttlefish are found in the Malacca Strait, the South and East China Sea, the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, and off the coast of Fiji.
View the Source
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Acropora cervicornis (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Staghorn Coral, Geographic Range
Quote, Hosts: Staghorn Coral, Geographic Range
These species are also located in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia (McGregor 1974).
View the Source
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Carukia barnesi
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHosts: Carukia barnesi, Geographic Range
Quote, Hosts: Carukia barnesi, Geographic Range
It is also found in the Cairns regions and the Great Barrier Reef.
View the Source

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.