| Like John Brewer
Reef, waves of crown-of-thorns starfish have impacted this reef since the 1980s. It
is not uncommon to see a small population somewhere, and in areas where Acropora plates dominate it is usual
to
see patches of
healthy coral interspersed with recently eaten dead coral.
In 2002, shallow water corals were impacted by bleaching.
Rib 163 consists of 3 separate lines at different depths on the reef
front. The 2 deeper lines have low coral cover and were impacted
by crown-of-thorns
starfish
in
the
mid
1980s.
Recovery
has been
slow compared
to the shallowest site, 163_3, which shows better recovery following
disturbance. Rib 166 consists of 3 lines and is
located in the semi-protected waters at the flank of the
reef.
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