Australia’s coral reefs are in crisis.

As the saying goes, those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

We’ve all seen the devastating coral bleaching of Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef due to climate change.

Now, over the past few weeks, Western Australia’s equally remarkable, World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef is facing a similar fate.

Why? Accelerated CO₂ emissions are driving extreme weather events, placing immense stress on our natural ecosystems.

Despite decades of scientific warnings, governments and corporations continue to fail in conserving these vital natural environments.

Up until recently, Ningaloo was a well-preserved, even healthy and thriving coral ecosystem — largely unaffected by bleaching since 2011. But now, it is on the brink of a mass bleaching event.

And it’s not just Ningaloo.

From Ningaloo Reef up to Ashmore Reef — covering nearly half of WA’s coastline — the equivalent of a raging bushfire is tearing through our reefs.

Even corals in deeper waters in the Ningaloo region are bleaching due to this unprecedented marine heatwave.

And this is just WA – many reefs around Australia and the world are facing similar challenges due to climate change.

So, what happens next?

Recovery is possible if waters cool, but the reality is stark:

• The bleaching has occurred in what was supposed to be some of the cooler months.
• We may see more bleaching as the sea temperature rises.
• Some corals may not survive.

Our team at Minderoo Exmouth Research Lab will be keeping a close watch over the coming months as to how this bleaching unfolds across the reef, how it affects the upcoming coral spawning season, and will be lending support to operations on the ground to monitor the impacts.

Caption: A specimen of Acropora tenuis at Minderoo Exmouth Research Laboratory, ready to spawn. Credit: Katharine Murphy.

In a natural process called coral spawning, it is the reef’s time to replenish itself.

Millions of coral colonies release their eggs and sperm into the water simultaneously.

Fertilised eggs become baby coral larvae, floating with ocean currents until they settle and grow into new coral colonies.

This process, guided by the rhythm of the moon and other environmental signals, is nature’s way of renewing reefs.

(It’s not lost on us how magical that sounds).

But rising ocean temperatures threaten this incredible process.

That’s why Minderoo has been developing techniques to future-proof our reefs.

We know that the best way to help reefs is to bring down climate-harming emissions through a fair and rapid energy transition.

To buy additional time for Ningaloo, Minderoo Foundation has been striving to develop genetic technologies to future-proof the reef since 2023.

We have been conducting experiments at the Minderoo Exmouth Research Lab to assess the feasibility of selective breeding, using a conservation technique called assisted gene flow in corals.

Our testing has involved:

• Crossbreeding corals from the same species sourced from different parts of the reef
• Testing coral larvae for heat resilience to identify the “elite athletes” able to withstand warmer waters
• Studying coral DNA to determine which genes make corals resilient or vulnerable to the warmer waters of marine heatwaves.

The ultimate goal? Creating thermally resilient corals that can better withstand climate change.

This work is vital for the future of our oceans and the life they support.

However, in the face of the upcoming bleaching event, these efforts alone may not be enough.

“We know that marine heatwaves and the stress they create have short- and long-term impacts on coral reproduction. This current heatwave may mean some reproductively ready corals die before they reproduce or maybe are too stressed to spawn. Studies also show that heat stress can impact spawning and the quality of the spawn for years after.”

— Dr. Kate Quigley, Principal Research Scientist, Minderoo Foundation

By 2050, nearly 90 per cent of the world’s coral is expected to experience bleaching.

While scientific innovation offers promising short-term solutions, it won’t be enough to turn the tide without government intervention and strict emission reductions.

“We want to see this communicated to the public. People have a right to know what’s happening in their marine protected areas, in their World Heritage sites,” Dr Kate Quigley says.

With coral reefs and marine life under unprecedented threat, the need for urgent environmental protection has never been greater.

The time to act is now.