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发表于 2014-5-31 01:26:58
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Great Barrier Reef information
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/greatbarrierreef/
Diving Trip that suits you best http://www.divethereef.com/DiveSelection.asp
CORAL Photobank http://tools.coralreef.org/content/objects/view.acs?object_id=549
The Coral Kingdom Catalog of Images http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/reef/reind1.htm
Great Aussie Holidays http://www.aussieholidays.net.au/
Aviation Adventures - Whitsunday scenic flights http://www.av8.com.au/
Great Barrier Reef
Dunk Island, one of more than 600 islands of the Great Barrier Reef
Photo courtesy of Voyages Australian Resorts
The Great Barrier Reef, off Australia's east coast, is one of the wonders of the natural world. It is World Heritage listed and is one of Australia's, and the world's, premier holiday destinations. The combination of glorious weather (be aware that it rains a lot in the wet season!), pristine rainforest, white sandy beaches, and an ocean varying in hue from blue to turquoise to green, ensures it's where the world wants to go to lie on the beach, swim, surf, snorkel, sail, bushwalk and birdwatch.
The largest reef in the world measuring 2011 km in length and 72 km across at its widest point. Of the many hundreds of varieties of coral growing on the reef, the Staghorn (antler type) is one of the most common. The Great Barrier Reef is a true wonderland of color and beauty. The reef can be reached from many coastal points and can be explored on private charters,daily cruises, by seaplane, air charter and now, on special helicopter flights.
The Great Barrier Reef is home to more than 1500 species of fish
Photo courtesy of Voyages Australian Resorts
The area abounds with wildlife, including dugong and green turtles, varieties of dolphins and whales, more than 1500 species of fish, 4000 types of mollusc and more than 200 species of birdlife. The Great Barrier Reef system consists of more than 3000 reefs which range in size from 1 hectare to over 10,000 hectares in area. The reef is scattered with beautiful islands and idyllic coral cays and covers more than 300,000 square kilometres.
The coral has, over the years, brought many ships to grief - Cook's own Endeavour hit the reef and almost foundered - if it had, and Cook and his crew had perished, Australian history would be quite a different story. One of the most famous wrecks is that of the HMS Pandora, which foundered in 1791. The Queensland Museum has been leading archaeological digs to the Pandora since 1983 and its most recent was completed in February 1999.
The corals which make up the various reefs and cays, and which are the base for this variety of sea and animal life, consist of individual coral polyps - tiny live creatures which join together to form colonies. Each polyp is a tiny jelly-like blob crowned by tentacles, and looks not unlike an anemone, but much smaller. Each polyp lives inside a shell of aragonite, a type of calcium carbonate which is the hard shell we recognise as coral. The polyps join together to create forests of coloured coral in interesting fan, antler, brain and plate shapes.
There are many different types of coral, some are slow growing and live to be hundreds of years old, others are faster growing. The colours of coral are created by algae. Only live coral is coloured. Dead coral is white.
A healthy reef
Photo courtesy of the Australian Institute of Marine Science
The ideal environment for coral is shallow warm water where there is a lot of water movement, plenty of light, where the water is salty and low in nutrients.
Reefs are sensitive to climate change, to changes in patterns of water movement, and to physical damage - so problems like global warming, El Nino, the building of moorings or breakwaters, any additional nutrients running off land from human habitation, may well have a negative effect on the reef system, and thus on the sea and land animals which depend upon it for survival.
Tourism may also have a negative impact, with fragile corals broken by reef walking, dropped anchors or by boats dropping fuel and other sorts of pollution. Even the number of people in the water with the associated run-off of sweat and suntan lotions may well have a negative impact on the fragile reef environment.
More than 2 million people visit the reef each year generating more than $AU2 billion in tourism dollars, making tourism a major earner for the north-eastern Australian economy. Tourists are carried to the reef system by more than 500 commercial vessels, and tourism is permitted through nearly all the Park. Most of the Reef is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and various parts of it are protected in certain ways - for example, fishing is restricted in some areas, particular animals - like whales, dolphins, green turtles and dugong - are protected.
But visitors value the reef's beauty and diversity - that's why they visit after all - and there is support from tourism operators and tourists as well as government agencies to develop approaches to tourism sustainable over the longer term.
The Crown of Thorns starfish
Photo courtesy of the Australian Institute of Marine Science
One tourist who cares little for the beauty and diversity of the Great Barrier Reef system is the Crown of Thorns starfish. Since the 1960s the Crown of Thorns has been destroying the corals which make up the reef. Crown of Thorns outbreaks go through a series of stages which can take from 1 to 15 years. The impact of a Crown of Thorns infestation on sea and bird life can be significant as the corals, which support and sustain this life, die.
Disappearance of the coral gardens also has an impact on human activity - as the Great Barrier Reef's visitors are largely drawn to the area to experience the reef. The Australian Federal Government supports a range of research programs to investigate Crown of the Thorns starfish, their impact on the reef system and possible biological and other control mechanisms for them.
The latest scourge of the reef is bleaching, where corals have died in large numbers. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Queensland's Great Barrier Reef, but has been observed on reefs throughout the world. It is thought the bleaching has been caused by rises in water temperature related to the El Nino effect, although the evidence is not conclusive.
Even with these problems and challenges the Great Barrier Reef is still one of the natural wonders of the world - an environment of extraordinary beauty and richness, with a diversity of plant, animal and sea life which makes it essential we conserve and preserve it, and maintain it as great place to relax and experience part of Australia's natural heritage.
Great Barrier Reef links
? Australian Institute of Marine Science
? Australian Institute of Marine Science project information for schools
? Description of Natural World Heritage Properties: Great Barrier Reef
? Dugongs
? Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
? Great Barrier Reef Bureau
? Great Barrier Reef
? Great Barrier Reef and Islands
? Queensland Museum - HMS Pandora
? Museum of Tropical Queensland - HMS Pandora
? Threatened Species and Threatened Ecological Communities
? The Lady Elliot Island Lighthouse
? Underwater photography from the Great Barrier Reef
General coral reef resources
? Reef base
? Reefnet
? The Coral Reef Alliance
Research links
? Australian Coral Reef Society
? Australian Marine Sciences Association
? CRC Reef Research Centre
? Lizard Island Research Station
? Centre for Marine Studies
General Australian ocean links
? National Oceans Office
? Australian Government Department of the Environment & Heritage: Coasts and Oceans
Experience the Great Barrier Reef
? Great Barrier Reef Visitors Bureau
? Outback Reef Adventures
? Lady Elliot Island Resort
? Great Aussie Holidays
? Scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef |
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