Mains Ready By December. Smash Mains & Smash PYQ Admissions Open
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Environment › Biodiversity · Environment › Conservation & Mitigation

Mass Mortality of Goniopora Corals at One Tree Reef  

·
Click Here to add as a preferred source on Google

Why in the News?

A new study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B (December 10, 2025) reports unprecedented coral bleaching and mortality at One Tree Reef (OTR) in the southern Great Barrier Reef, driven by extreme heat and rapid spread of black band disease (BBD).

Background

  • Coral reefs have shaped Earth’s climate for 250 million years.
  • OTR has not witnessed bleaching of this severity for decades.
  • The impacted species, Goniopora (flowerpot or daisy corals), typically live in lagoons and turbid reefs and are known for thermal tolerance, making their mass mortality alarming.

Why Black Band Disease Spread at OTR

  • BBD is common in the Caribbean but historically rare in the southern Great Barrier Reef.
  • OTR is offshore and not affected by major nutrient pollution — usually a known trigger.
  • Other coral genera at OTR that bleached did not develop BBD.
  • Northern Great Barrier Reef surveys (2024) showed very low incidence (1–2 percent).
Consider the following statements: (2018)

1. Most of the world’s coral reefs are in tropical waters. 

2. More than one-third of the world’s coral reefs are located in the territories of Australia, Indonesia and Philippines. 

3. Coral reefs host far more number of animal phyla than those hosted by tropical rainforests. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

(a) 1 and 2 only (b) 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Click here to Download X-Factor Notes for FREE. Cover the entire Microthemes with PYQs.

Download free X-Factor Notes
Revised and updated X-Factor Notes for UPSC Mains 2027: subject booklets