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The vulnerability and conservation value of sub-tropical reefs south of the Great Barrier Reef – regarded as climate change refuges – has been highlighted in a new study.
University of Queensland School of Biological Sciences researcher Dr Brigitte Sommer said the study of Eastern Australian reefs revealed coral species would likely shift their distribution southward in response to climate change.
Coral range expansions would likely vary among species depending on the species’ characteristics and traits.
“In the subtropical-to-temperate transition zone south of the Great Barrier Reef, corals are at the limits of their distribution and environmental tolerances, as the water is cooler,” Dr Sommer said.
Read more at University of Queensland
Image: Corals on a subtropical reef off eastern Australia. (Credit: Brigitte Sommer)
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