Fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are losing their COLOUR as coral reefs decline, study finds

Fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are losing their COLOUR as coral reefs decline, study finds

Source: dailymail

3/23/2022

Fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are losing their COLOUR as coral reefs decline, study finds

Credit: CR Hemingston

Fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are losing their colour as coral reefs degrade and die during bleaching events, a new study shows.

Researchers in Queensland have found a link between dull-coloured fish and corals that have undergone coral bleaching and turned white.

In particular, the abundance of yellow and green fish has dropped steadily by about three quarters over the past 27 years, they found.

Currently, experts don't know the exact reason for the link between dull coloured fish and bleached coral, or if one causes the other.

Fish that inhabit coral reefs are extremely diverse in colour, although the specific environmental factors that lead to this remain unclear.

Only last week, it was confirmed that the Great Barrier Reef has suffered yet another significant coral bleaching event – its fourth in just seven years.