Pandolfi et al., 2003:

"In terms of overall ecosystem health, scientific consensus is that, whilst the Great Barrier Reef has suffered significant degradation compared to its pristine condition, it is in relatively good health compared to reefs elsewhere in the world. It is challenging to know how to integrate all the available information into a single assessment of overall ecosystem health, and attempts to do so have been controversial. One approach compared the extent of degradation of coral reefs from around the world, based on a statistical combination of status of key groups of reef organisms. According to this analysis, the outer Great Barrier Reef, followed by the inner Reef, and Torres Strait, were in better condition than reefs in the Red Sea and the Caribbean.

Degradation of coral reef ecosystems began centuries ago, but there is no global summary of the magnitude of change. We compiled records, extending back thousands of years, of the status and trends of seven major guilds of carnivores, herbivores, and architectural species from 14 regions. Large animals declined before small animals and architectural species, and Atlantic reefs declined before reefs in the Red Sea and Australia, but the trajectories of decline were markedly similar worldwide. All reefs were substantially degraded long before outbreaks of coral disease and bleaching. Regardless of these new threats, reefs will not survive without immediate protection from human exploitation over large spatial scales."

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Citation and/or URL

Pandolfi, J.M., Bradbury, R.H., Sala,E., Hughes, T.P., Bjorndal, K.A., Cooke, R.G., McArdle, D., McClenachan, L., Newman, M.J.H., Paredes, G., Warner, R.R., and Jackson, J.B.C., 2003, Global trajectories of the long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems, Science, 301: 955-958

Spatial Coverage

 Global

Temporal Coverage

Paleological study - millennia 

Update Frequency

Not applicable

Other Information

 None