Unusual pumice drifting island can save the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, the state of which causes serious concern among scientists, is located right on the migration route of a huge pumice island. Queensland University of Technology Australian scientists believe that the island of pumice is an incredible fortune. The fact is that in this part of the Pacific Ocean in the coming weeks the breeding season of coral polyps, those very living organisms that form the basis of the Great Barrier Reef, will begin. They live not only on this reef, but also in many other reef systems in the western part of the ocean. At the initial stage of life, the coral polyp larva is very small and travels freely in the water column, only after some time settles at the bottom and gives rise to a new coral polyp.

Scientists believe that the larvae of polyps from other coral reefs will be able to attach to pieces of pumice and with them make a significant migration to the west. New polyps will be able to diversify the species composition of the Great Barrier Reef, and perhaps this will have a beneficial effect on its condition, increasing the stability of the entire reef system. Recall that in recent years, the largest coral reef on the planet suffers from an increase in water temperature and a high content of pollutants in the Coral Sea, which leads to the death of polyps and the general degradation of a unique ecosystem.