Great Barrier Reef

Great barrier reef corals and fishes.
The Great Barrier Reef supports plenty of tour-dive companies and commercial fishing outfits. (Image credit: Tanya Puntti/Shutterstock)

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is an enormous and spectacular natural wonder, but it is also one of the most devastating examples of ecosystems that are increasingly threatened by a warming world. Explore its diverse communities of marine wildlife, and discover the challenges facing corals — which are especially sensitive to temperature change — and the animals that depend on them.

Latest about the great barrier reef

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Shiny Giant Clams May Inspire New Solar Tech

By Laura Geggel last updated

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Coral Reefs Have 'Halos,' and They Can Be Seen from the Heavens

By Mindy Weisberger published

What's the story behind reefs' mysterious "halos" of empty sand?

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What Are Coral Reefs?

By Rachel Ross published

A photo provided by the Australian government shows baby sea turtles crawling toward the surf on Raine Island.

Climate Change Turned 99.8% of These Sea Turtle Babies into Girls

By Rafi Letzter published

A new study found that sea turtles born in areas most heated by climate change are 99.8 percent female.

Great barrier reef corals and fishes.

Can You Put a Price on the Great Barrier Reef? Economists Just Did

By Stephanie Pappas published

The Great Barrier Reef brings real dollars to Australia.

A bleached coral stands starkly in Australia's Mission Beach Reefs, part of the Great Barrier Reef system.

Great Barrier Reef Again Hit by Severe Coral Bleaching

By Stephanie Pappas published

Two-thirds of the length of the Great Barrier Reef is suffering from bleaching, a condition likely to cause mass coral die-offs.

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Global Warming Is Killing the Great Barrier Reef

By Kacey Deamer published

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered "off the chart" damage.

A view of the Gloria Knolls Slide off Queensland, Australia, and adjacent seafloor features; colors represent the depth of the features beneath the water surface (red is the shallowest, indicating the tallest features, while purple and blue are the deepes

Huge Undersea Landslide Slammed Great Barrier Reef 300,000 Years Ago

By Jeanna Bryner published

More than 300,000 years ago, a behemoth undersea landslide sent huge amounts of debris sliding down the Great Barrier Reef, generating a 90-foot-high (27 meters) tsunami.

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Surprise! Another Massive Reef Is Hiding Behind the Great Barrier Reef

By Kacey Deamer published

The 2,300-square-mile reef was hiding in plain sight.

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Great Barrier Reef Coral Bleaching is 'Worst in its History'

By Mindy Weisberger published

Australia's Great Barrier Reef corals are in trouble, with the northern part of the reef experiencing "the worst mass bleaching event in its history."

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