Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change Can We Save the Great Barrier Reef? | Ep225: Dr Katharina Fabricius
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Sep 24, 2025 Dr. Katharina Fabricius, a renowned coral reef ecologist with three decades of research, discusses the critical state of the Great Barrier Reef. She outlines the 'seven sins of climate change' threatening coral survival, including heatwaves and acidification. Despite witnessing multiple bleaching events, Katharina emphasizes coral resilience and the importance of reef ecosystems for human wellbeing. She also explores the impact of government action on reef conservation and shares what gives her hope for the future of our oceans.
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Personal Witness To Reef Collapse
- Dr Katharina Fabricius has witnessed six massive bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef over her career.
- She described the 2016–17 events as horrific, with coral tissue sloughing off and a long personal recovery from burnout.
Scale And Long-Term Decline
- The Great Barrier Reef is enormous, roughly the size of California or Germany, with vast ecological diversity.
- Long-term monitoring shows coral cover fell from ~27% to under 13% over decades, signalling major ecosystem change.
Heat Waves Are The Main Killer
- 'Seven sins of climate change' are overlapping climate disturbances driving reef decline, led by marine heatwaves.
- Even 1°C above long-term maxima for weeks can trigger coral bleaching by disrupting coral–algae symbiosis.