Source: ScienceAlert Australia
January 5, 2010

A new scientific study has found that seaweeds have claimed large areas of the coastal shelf of Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR).

Part of a global effort to record and understand changes in coral reefs worldwide, the study has found that more than 40 per cent of inshore reefs on the GBR are dominated by seaweeds (macroalgae) - but that the mid-shelf and outer reefs are virtually free of weed.

"The Great Barrier Reef is widely regarded as the world's most intact large reef system - and that's the way we aim to keep it," says Professor Dave Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University. "As part of that goal, it is important to study what makes up the reef, in order to monitor any changes that may occur and understand what is causing them."

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