Aussie scientists identify source reefs to replenish Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Australian scientists have identified a series of coral reefs which could be used to replenish the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), a report published on Wednesday said.

The "robust source reefs" lie on the outer edges of the GBR where cooler water is pushed towards the surface, reducing the impact of warming oceans.

Scott Condie from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) Oceans and Atmosphere department in Tasmania is optimistic that the source reefs could be used to supplement parts of the GBR which have been hit hardest by coral bleaching.

"They're the bank for the future of the reef," Condie told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday.

"Even though they represent a small percentage of the total reefs, they have the ability to actually replenish probably almost half the reefs within a given season, which is very encouraging."

Authors of a report published on Wednesday, including Condie, identified 112 reefs which met the criteria for a source reef.

Importantly, the reefs have a "lower risk of conveying a crown of thorns starfish outbreak."

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) estimated that three waves of crown of thorns starfish (COTS) outbreaks between 1985 and 2012 were responsible for 50 percent of the GBR's total decline in that period.

COTS feed on coral and can reach plague levels when the conditions are right.

Authorities have begun to actively remove the starfish from the reef but Condie said it was time to look at interventionist strategies.

"The situation has gotten bad enough now that we're really being forced to (look at intervention) and the (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority) is talking about options in this direction," he said.

"They could be engineering solutions like actually pumping colder water from deeper onto these reefs to stop bleaching." Enditem