Helping the Great Barrier Reef fight off one of its biggest killers may now be easier thanks to research that determines which reefs are more resilient.
Bleaching occurs when ocean temperatures rise and is considered the most immediate threat to coral as a result of climate change.
A new study by James Cook University's ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies reveals how we can predict which reefs are more likely to recover from bleaching, a stress response that can cause widespread coral death.
Scientists from Australia, France and the UK analysed 20 years worth of data from the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles where 90 per cent of the country's corals across 21 reefs were lost in 1998.
Just 12 of the reefs recovered from the event that had a major effect on local fish stocks.
Five factors dictated whether the reefs bounced back - water depth, the reef's physical structure, nutrient levels, the amount of grazing by fish and the survival of juvenile corals.
JCU's Dr Nicholas Graham, the study's lead author, says thresholds were identified for each factor which dictated whether reefs would recover.
Study co-author Dr Aaron MacNeil, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, says being able to pinpoint which reefs are more likely to survive could lead to improvements in the way the eco-systems are managed.
"By carefully managing reefs with conditions that are more likely to recover from climate-induced bleaching, we give them the best possible chance of surviving over the long term," he said.
"While reduction of local pressures that damage corals and diminish water quality will help to increase the proportion of reefs that can bounce back."
The study, Predicting climate-driven regime shifts versus rebound potential in coral reefs, has been published in the Nature journal.
