Deadly tide takes toll on coral

Dani Cooper
ABC Science Online
Tour operators on Australia's Great Barrier Reef may be encouraged to help shade coral from the Sun when the reef is exposed at extremely low tides, a researcher says.

Temporary sunshades for small parts of the reef could help coral fight the effects of a "sun-dried tide", a rare natural event that can devastate coral communities, says Dr Ken Anthony of the Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

Research by Anthony and colleague Dr Ailsa Kerswell shows extreme low tides on a clear, sunny day with little wind can weaken and kill coral reefs as they prepare for the stressful times of spawning and summer.

But Anthony says their research shows they can predict a sun-dried tide and forecasts of its arrival could become an important tool in managing the reef.

In a paper published recently in the journal Marine Biology, the researchers describe what happened during a September 2005 event at Orpheus Island, off the North Queensland coast.
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