Western Australian Coral Bleaching Group Newsletter
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12th August 2025
2024/25 Season Snapshot
Elevated Ocean Temperatures
Western Australia (WA) has experienced sustained higher-than-normal ocean temperatures resulting in a marine heatwave along the coast from August 2024 through May 2025. More northern reefs in the Oceanic and Kimberley region experienced peak heat stress (>10 Degree Heating Weeks; DHW) in January and February, while central and southern reefs experienced peak heat stress (> 20 DHW) between March and May. Most regions exceeded 8 DHW, the threshold typically associated with coral bleaching and mortality.
Coral Bleaching
Severe heat stress has caused unprecedented coral bleaching across most WA coral reefs. Aerial and in-water surveys, and observations shared with the WA Coral Bleaching Group confirm the extent of bleaching, reporting moderate to very high bleaching across oceanic reefs (Ashmore Reef, Scott Reef, Rowley Shoals), and inshore reefs in all of the Kimberley, Pilbara and Ningaloo regions. Mortality has also been recorded across most reefs; however, the full impact of this bleaching event is still to be determined.
Cyclones
Usually commencing in December, the onset of the northwest monsoon on 7th February 2025 was the latest on record. Of the 12 tropical cyclones in Australia this season, all but one developed within the northwest. Seven of these were Severe Tropical Cyclones, but the cooling effect of these and other tropical storms on water temperatures around WA coral reefs was brief and localised.
How You Can Help
We encourage the reporting of coral bleaching observations on WA reefs by the wider community. The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has a free mobile app where you can submit observations and photographs, or observations can be sent directly to the WA Coral Bleaching Group. Datasheets and further information about coral bleaching are available at: https://www.aims.gov.au/coral-bleaching
Above: WA's reefs are vast and diverse, extending thousands of kilometres along the coastline from the dynamic reefs in the remote Kimberley, to the high latitude coral reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos. Along the edge of the continental shelf sit our oceanic reefs, and thousands of kilometres further are Christmas and Cocos Keeling Islands.
Above: BoM Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly Monthly analysis product for Australia for December 2024 - May 2025 with a scale ranging from -4.0°C (dark cyan) to +4.0°C (strong red). Departure from the climatology baseline: 1991 to 2020.
Above: NOAA Coral Reef Watch 5km Degree Heating Week (DHW) Year-to-date Maximum from 1st January - 31st May 2025. The above figure shows the maximum DHW recorded across the Indian Ocean for 2025. The dark purple extending from the central Pilbara to the south coast of WA and out into the Indian Ocean represents 20 DHW - the maximum category threshold displayed by NOAA Coral Reef Watch. Yet many reefs in WA exceeded 20 DHW, including reefs in the central Pilbara where maximum DHW reached 30 DHW. Coral bleaching and mortality are expected when heat stress exceeds 8 DHW (red above).
2024/25 Season Summary
The 2024/25 season has been the most severe coral bleaching on record for Western Australian coral reefs. Coral reefs across most regions have experienced sustained heat stress, resulting in unprecedented mass bleaching across northwestern and central reefs. This most recent period of extensive heat stress and coral bleaching in WA is part of a broader global event. The fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event was declared by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in April 2024. Bleaching has been reported from coral reefs across the world’s tropical ocean basins since early 2023, and with repeated heat stress across multiple years, this global event is also the most intense event on record. It has continued for more than two years. It is likely that the full impacts of this event across WA and globally, be they ecological, cultural, social and economic are not yet fully realised.
In this season summary, we report the patterns of heat stress, coral bleaching and mortality across WA reefs through the 2024 – 2025 season.
Following record breaking ocean temperatures in 2023 and 2024, both global and Australian Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) have remained the hottest, or among the hottest on record for each month through 2025. The persistence of marine heatwave conditions across the northwest from winter 2024 to autumn 2025 underpin the significance of this warming event.
Heat stress and bleaching in the far north of WA can occur from October to December, after which ocean temperatures are cooled by monsoonal storms and cyclones. Following the monsoon, temperatures increase again, with the probability of heat stress and coral bleaching being highest through March and April, before cooling in winter. However, this season, the monsoon was delayed until February 2025, making it the latest onset of the Australian monsoon on record and causing prolonged heat stress through September to February.
In addition, coral reefs in the far north experienced record high SSTs through spring (September – November 2024), with temperature anomalies exceeding 1°C. These early anomalies further contributed to the accumulation of heat stress leading into the warmer months when reefs are most vulnerable to bleaching.
Eleven cyclones passed through the northwest this season, but they caused only brief and localised cooling of water temperatures around coral reefs. Heat stress on and around reefs this season also extended from surface water to depths of hundreds of meters on the northwest shelf. Previous severe heat stress and bleaching events have largely been driven by broad-scale climate drivers such as ENSO. In contrast, ongoing increases in ocean temperatures coupled with the prolonged and intense heat stress this season caused mass bleaching in the absence of a global scale climatic event.
The summer months (November 2024 – January 2025) in the northwest were the second warmest on record, with SST anomalies up to 4°C across parts of northern and central WA.
In December, heat stress across the Kimberley ranged between 5 and 12 DHW (NOAA CRW monthly maximum DHW), with some bleaching observed in intertidal communities. Degree Heating Weeks (DHW) is a widely used coral bleaching metric that reflects the accumulation of heat stress and considers the severity and duration of SSTs exceeding the summertime maximum. Generally, risk of reef-wide bleaching is predicted with DHW ≥ 4 and risk of reef-wide bleaching with mortality is predicted with DHW ≥ 8.
By January, heat stress was accumulating across the entire WA coast. Heat stress across the vast Kimberley region, ranged between 9 and 19 DHW, with ongoing bleaching reported across shallow and intertidal coral reefs. Further offshore, heat stress peaked at Ashmore Reef (~14 DHW) and Scott Reef (~17DHW) in January. Aerial imagery over the Rowley Shoals confirmed bleaching in the shallows. Across the Pilbara region, heat stress ranged between 6 and 13 DHW, with bleaching reported from Roebuck Bay in the southern sector of the Kimberley region, south to the Dampier Archipelago in the south Pilbara.
Heat stress continued to accumulate in February, intensifying across central and southwestern WA. Aerial surveys across Ningaloo confirmed bleaching across the entire length of the marine park at between 11 and 16 DHW.
In March, heat stress ranged between 10 and 17 DHW across the Kimberley, and in-water and aerial surveys recorded ongoing, widespread bleaching across both the northern and southern regions. Further offshore, heat stress remained high (>8 DHW) and moderate bleaching and mortality was recorded at Ashmore Reef and at Scott Reef. At the Rowley Shoals, heat stress peaked at 15 DHW in March, and in-water surveys in April recorded devastating mortality and bleaching at Mermaid and Clerke reefs.
Temperatures intensified through March and April across central WA, exceeding 20 DHW on reefs across most of the Pilbara and Ningaloo regions. Maximum DHW reached 30 DHW during this period inshore along the Pilbara coast, south of Dampier Archipelago. In April, widespread bleaching was recorded during surveys at the Montebello Islands, while additional aerial surveys also recorded widespread bleaching in Exmouth Gulf and across Ningaloo.
Water temperatures decreased across the northwest in May, but the accumulated heat stress remained high across central and southwestern WA, with ongoing bleaching recorded across Pilbara and Ningaloo reefs. Despite heat stress south of Ningaloo exceeding 20 DHW, coral bleaching was not observed at Shark Bay, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, or further south around Rottnest Island.
Western Australia's coral reefs are well managed, but climate change caused by carbon emissions remains the greatest threat to our coral reefs, and all reefs globally. In recent years, temperatures in all of the world's oceans were the hottest on record, causing the fourth Global Coral Bleaching Event. As ocean temperatures continue to rise, so too will the frequency and magnitude of heat stress, bleaching and mortality on coral reefs. Recovery from severe heat stress and mass bleaching takes more than a decade, which is far longer than the time between recurrent heat stress and bleaching on most coral reefs. This season, increasing ocean temperatures across the northwest through spring and summer, due partly to the late arrival of the monsoon, has resulted in heat stress and bleaching across all WA reefs, exceeding both the spatial extent and severity of bleaching during the last global event in 2016, or in any other year. For many reefs in WA, this also represents repeated or back-to-back bleaching in the last 5 years.
Monitoring the extent and severity of bleaching and recovery across Western Australia’s vast and remote reef systems remains a significant challenge. The state’s reefs span thousands of kilometres, often in hard-to-access locations with limited resourcing for consistent in-water surveys. Through this most recent event, our understanding of bleaching and mortality across multiple reefs and regions was collated from multiple sources, including scientists, marine park rangers, researchers, tourism operators, community members, and Traditional Owners, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts. The coverage has been extensive, yielding a collection of observations and images spanning thousands of kilometres across WA.
The extent and scale of mass bleaching is unprecedented for Western Australia, but our data also highlights variation in impacts within regions and reefs, and among coral groups. The following section provides a regional summary of coral bleaching observations to date, acknowledging the extent of mortality or recovery will not be confirmed until post-bleaching monitoring surveys are completed throughout the year.
The Western Australian Coral Bleaching Group extends its sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed reports, observations, images, and video footage of coral bleaching across our states vast network of coral reefs, including their personal accounts of how this event has affected them.
Above: WA's marine emblem - the whale shark - captured from above, swimming over bleached corals on the outer reef slopes of Ningaloo Reef. Image: supplied by DBCA
Coral Bleaching Summary
Indian Ocean Territories
Elevated sea surface temperatures and heat stress remained low (<2 DHW) across Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands through most of the summer and autumn months (December to May) and no bleaching has been observed through this period.
Oceanic Reefs
Ashmore Reef
Field surveys by AIMS in March recorded moderate, but variable, bleaching and mortality across Ashmore Reef. Although heat stress peaked at the end of January, heat stress still remained high (>8 DHW) at the time of surveys and ongoing bleaching was observed across all sites. Although bleaching was low across most sites surveyed (with a notable exception of high bleaching within the shallow lagoon), moderate levels of mortality were recorded across most coral groups. In particular, Pocillopora and Acropora corals were also among the worst affected. Additionally, cyclone damage was evident at several sites, including coral injury and high coral rubble, while moderate levels of disease were observed in some corals and sites.
Analysis of long-term monitoring imagery is underway and will provide further insights to the overall impact of heat stress at this time.
Above: Low to moderate bleaching and recent mortality were recorded during surveys across Ashmore Reef in March 2025. Top: Pocillopora corals are generally among the most susceptible to coral bleaching and worst affected at Ashmore Reef; Bottom: Recent mortality was worst for Acropora corals and the severity of bleaching and mortality varied, with some colonies suffering partial mortality (bottom left), partial bleaching, full colony mortality (bottom right), or no evidence of recent mortality or bleaching (bottom right). Images: AIMS
Scott Reef
There have been no monitoring surveys at Scott Reef during this most recent heat stress period, however, it is likely that widespread bleaching and mortality has resulted from severe (>17 DHW) and prolonged heat stress. Reports from the eco-tourism vessel, Coral Adventurer, confirmed coral bleaching and recent mortality within the South Scott Reef lagoon in March.
AIMS scientists will return to long-term monitoring sites at these reefs in October and will assess the condition of coral communities and the impacts from recent heat stress.
Above: Bleaching and recent mortality was evident within the south Scott Reef lagoon. The variability in the severity across and within coral groups is captured in these images. Top left: Mortality, evident in the thin layer of turfing algae, has begun on the uppermost section of a large encrusting colony. Top right: The extent of recent mortality appears very high at this slope site, with branching corals among the worst affected. Bottom left: Varying severity of bleaching impact in Fungiid corals. Bottom right: A bleached colony alongside healthy, unaffected colonies. Recent mortality is evident in some surrounding corals. Images: Coral Adventurer courtesy of Josh Bonesso, AIMS
Rowley Shoals
Aerial photographs provided by Parks Australia through January and February confirmed bleaching in the shallow reefs at Mermaid Reef, and in April, extensive surveys by AIMS at Mermaid and Clerke reefs, the two most northern reefs of the Rowley Shoals, recorded high to very high coral bleaching and mortality across most sites.
The worst affected areas were the lagoons and deep slopes, where very high bleaching and recent mortality were observed from shallow bommie tops in the lagoon to depths greater than 20 m on the slope. Recent mortality was widespread and affected most coral groups and remaining live cover (including bleached colonies) was generally low. Mortality was generally worst for Acropora corals which were previously abundant across most shallow sites but suffered extreme mortality at most sites surveyed. Surviving corals exhibited variable but often high bleaching. Bleaching was often extreme where soft corals were present and healthy soft corals were rare.
Adverse weather prevented surveys at Imperieuse Reef, however, coral communities here are similar to Clerke Reef, and experienced comparative intensity and duration of heat stress. It is likely that Imperieuse Reef also suffered high to very high coral bleaching and mortality.
Analysis of long-term imagery from Mermaid Reef is currently underway.
Top: Mermaid Reef. Top left: Extreme (>90%) mortality was estimated for Acropora corals which were previously common across shallow lagoon sites. Top right: The outer reef slopes at Mermaid Reef are characterised by large Diploastrea colonies which suffered close to 100% bleaching and mortality. Bottom: Clerke Reef. Bottom left: Generally, coral communities at Clerke Reef have higher coral cover and are dominated by Acropora corals. Here, extreme (>90%) mortality is pictured at this shallow western reef slope. Bottom right: On the western slope, bleaching was still evident at depths greater than 20m. Here, large (>2m across) Porites colonies were fully bleached. Images: AIMS
Kimberley
Stressed colonies and early signs of bleaching were reported for intertidal corals near Broome in late December. In January, coral bleaching across the shallow reefs around Bardi Jawi sea Country (Dampier Peninsula) and Cygnet Bay in the southern Kimberley were reported by the Bardi Jawi Rangers and the Kimberley Marine Research Station. Additional reports of bleaching have been made by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and locals across the Kimberley, with signs of bleaching extending from Broome to the northern Kimberley, including Koolan Island in February and East Montalivet Island in early March.
Top: Extensive bleaching of coral communities at Koolan Island in the Kimberley were observed in early February 2025. Images; Kesia Savill, AIMS@UWA Bottom: Very high bleaching was recorded across the reef flats near Broome in March 2025. Images: Ellen D'Cruz and Kelly Waples, DBCA
The Kimberley is a large, dynamic and challenging region to survey, and aerial surveys by DBCA, together with Traditional Owner rangers, have been an important tool in capturing the extent of bleaching across the North Kimberley, Bardi Jawi Garra, Mayala, and Lalang Gaddam marine parks in early March.
Across all four marine parks, high to very high bleaching was recorded at most survey sites spanning the reef flat, crest and slope making this the most widespread and extensive bleaching ever recorded across the region. No sites surveyed showed 'no-bleaching'.
Above: Aerial surveys across the northern and southern Kimberley captured extensive and widespread bleaching. Images: Toby Larke and Rich Evans, DBCA
Notably, this is the first time aerial surveys captured extensive bleaching across the reef flat habitats. Indeed, intertidal surveys conducted by Parks Australia and UWA in May across Mayala sea Country recorded widespread bleaching, noting bleaching in hard and soft corals across all sites surveyed.
Left: Intertidal surveys across Mayala sea Country recorded bleaching across soft and hard corals in May 2025. Images: Rachel Garcia, Parks Australia Right: Intertidal communities at Roebuck Bay. The full extent and severity of bleaching across habitats is yet unknown. Image: DBCA
In-water surveys were also conducted by the Bardi Jawi and Oorany rangers in February and March across Bardi Jawi sea Country recording high bleaching across most sites surveyed. Bleaching affected most coral groups, but the branching corals were most susceptible. In nearby Cygnet Bay, Kimberley Marine Research Station recorded extensive mortality across a shallow reef site in May, where very high bleaching was observed in February.
Observations of bleaching of subtidal and intertidal communities at Roebuck Bay in the regions north were also shared with DBCA scientists earlier this year.
Together, these surveys contribute to a valuable overview of coral bleaching and provide insights into the progression of bleaching and mortality across the region. While the timing and intensity of heat stress differed between the northern and southern Kimberley, both sectors experienced prolonged and unprecedently high heat stress. Thus far, these surveys have captured widespread, extensive bleaching at a regional scale, but continued observations are needed to understand the extent of mortality, survival and recovery. Continued monitoring across long-term sites later in the year will be key to understanding the full impact and longer-term outcomes of this bleaching event.
Pilbara
Coral reefs of the Pilbara region, which spans over 100km, exist in a dynamic and unique environment characterised by the many fringing reefs developed around islands and turbid inshore waters. In recent years the region has experienced repetitive and high heat stress. Extensive bleaching was reported in January across the intertidal communities in Port Hedland impacting soft corals, hard corals and other marine invertebrates.
Above: Bleaching across intertidal coral communities was captured throughout January 2025 in Port Hedland. Image: Doris Koehler-Teufel
A further 200km southwest of Port Hedland, extensive bleaching was being observed across the Dampier Archipelago. The passing of Tropical Cyclone Zelia in February 2025 further damaged reefs already suffering bleaching. Ongoing reports were collected throughout February and March, to depths of nearly 20m, indicating bleaching affecting most coral groups across depths at several dive sites around the Dampier Archipelago. DBCA scientists will be returning to monitoring sites later in July to collect data that will reveal the impact of this extensive bleaching event.
Above: Extreme bleaching was recorded across several locations across Dampier Archipelago in January and February 2025. Left: Bleached Acropora corals near Legendre Island Right: Bleaching impacted most coral groups. Images: Natalie Callanan, Pilbara Dive.
Monitoring surveys through May and June found very high bleaching and mortality across some inshore shallow reefs of the Pilbara near Onslow. Many of the live coral colonies surveyed suffered partial bleaching or mortality. Heat stress has recently abated across the Pilbara, so further bleaching is unlikely.
Extensive in-water surveys across the Montebello and Barrow Islands Marine Park in April by DBCA scientists have found declines in coral cover, particularly around Barrow Island and the southern Shoals where heat stress and bleaching were most intense. At the time of the surveys, variable bleaching was still prevalent across the marine park and future surveys will be required to determine the full extent of mortality and recovery.
Aerial surveys across Exmouth Gulf, as part of the larger Ningaloo Reef aerial surveys, were conducted by DBCA rangers through the autumn months. Surveys in April were still recording patchy bleaching across the Exmouth Gulf, though it is likely that estimates at this time have underestimated the full extent of the bleaching impact as the onset of mortality had been confirmed by in-water observations, something that is impossible to capture from the air.
Above: Aerial imagery in April 2025 showing extensive coral bleaching on shallow reefs across the Exmouth Gulf. Images: Will Robbins, DBCA
Ningaloo Reef
DBCA have been monitoring reefs across Ningaloo Reef Marine Park between February and July, either in the air or on the water and have confirmed bleaching present across the length of the marine park each month, both within the lagoon and the outer reef slopes. Bleaching has been highly variable across the region with the most severe bleaching impacts observed in the north, particularly around Tantabiddi. Notably, the proportion of the reef bleached during aerial surveys in February were similar to those recorded in April, however, in-water observations noted the onset of mortality across most reefs in March. It is likely that April aerial observations underestimate the full impact of bleaching at that time as mortality cannot be recorded from aerial surveys. DBCA will return to long-term monitoring sites in November to repeat annual surveys.
Above: Aerial imagery in April 2025 showing extensive coral bleaching on shallow reefs across the Ningaloo Reef Marine Park. Images: Will Robbins, DBCA
Above: In-water surveys and observations have captured widespread bleaching and mortality across Ningaloo Reef. Left: WA's marine emblem - the whale shark - captured from above, swimming over bleached corals on the outer reef slopes of Ningaloo Reef. Right: Acropora were among the worst affected coral taxa at Ningaloo Reef. Images: Supplied by DBCA
In-water surveys and observations throughout this period complemented aerial surveys, providing further information on bleaching extent across depth, habitats, coral groups and signs of coral mortality not visible from the air.
In late April, extensive observations from the community were recorded across Ningaloo Reef, with more than 35 entries spanning from the tip of North West Cape south to the Mandu Sanctuary Zone using the AIMS Coral Bleaching App. These surveys documented variable bleaching across coral groups and sites, with most entries reporting high to extreme levels of bleaching. The highest levels were recorded at some of the more northern locations. These observations provided valuable insights for researchers ahead of fieldwork in May.
Several research teams from AIMS conducted coral health surveys within the Ningaloo lagoon, building upon ongoing and collaborative projects that contribute to a broader understanding of reef condition and change over time. These surveys found variability in bleaching and mortality among taxa and sites, noting bleaching prevalence was highest at some of the more northern sites of Ningaloo Reef.
One such project surveyed coral communities in each of the northern (around Mangrove Bay) and southern (around Pt Anderson) sections of Ningaloo lagoon during late May and found a wide range and size of colonies had ongoing signs of heat stress (pale, fluorescing, bleached) at all sites, with indications of recent mortality in about one quarter of the colonies surveyed. The team also noted high levels of macroalgae cover within the southern lagoon, although this has also occurred in non-heatwave years at these sites.
Concurrently, high to very high bleaching and extensive mortality was recorded during surveys from the Muiron Islands in the north, to south of Coral Bay. The highest noted at Tantabiddi and Pilgramunna Creek locations in the northern sector of the marine park.
Above: Shallow sites within the lagoon at Ningaloo showed significant signs of mortality and loss of coral cover in May 2025. Top right: Oyster Stacks; Top left: Jurabi; Images: Chris Fulton, AIMS. Bottom: Observations of bleaching and mortality were recorded alongside population genetic sampling in May 2025. Images: Luke Thomas, AIMS
Building on coral population work begun in 2022 to understand patterns and drivers of coral demography in Ningaloo, photogrammetry plots at Tantabiddi and Bundegi reefs have revealed high levels of coral mortality across taxa and colony sizes between February 2024 and May 2025. However, at both sites, the team found signs of thermal resilience with some individuals showing little signs of thermal stress while others were still bleaching. The analyses of these data along with in-situ temperature records is still in progress.
Above: Changes in reef condition from August 2024 (top left) to May 2025 (top right) at a permanent plot at Bundegi Reef, Ningaloo; and from February 2024 (bottom left) to May 2025 (bottom right) at a permanent plot in the Tantabiddi lagoon at ~4m depth. By May 2025, after nearly 5 months of sustained high sea temperatures, high levels of coral mortality have occurred across taxa and across colony sizes. Images: Carolina Castro-Sanguino AIMS
Outside of the lagoon, on the northern reef flats and slopes of Ningaloo, a team from CSIRO conducted surveys in May as part of an annual monitoring program. These surveys found very high bleaching, down to depths of 20m, with moderate to high mortality, consistent with observations from within the lagoon. Early analysis of the data indicates a strong decline in coral cover from previous years.
Above: Before (May 2024) and after (May 2025). Annual monitoring surveys have revealed extensive bleaching across the outer reef slopes of northern Ningaloo. Images: Damian Thomson, CSIRO
Coral biodiversity and health surveys by Curtin, Western Australian Museum and Minderoo Foundation researchers also recorded bleaching severity across coral species transects in February and March. Survey locations extended from the Exmouth Gulf, south to Coral Bay. Preliminary results indicate high to very high bleaching at all sites, and mortality was observed at more than half of the locations surveyed. The worst of the bleaching was recorded in the eastern Exmouth Gulf and within the lagoon between Tantabiddi and Mandu Sanctuary. Bleaching impacts were recorded across all species and across all genera. Additionally, observations of disease and coral predators (such as Drupella) were noted during surveys. The extent of bleaching, however, varied across sites, with some sites, such as deeper reefs at Maud Sanctuary, still had healthy coral cover and likely contributed to spawning observed this year. Additional surveys in November will further understand any shifts in community composition resulting from the impacts of bleaching.
Top left: Bleached Acropora colonies at Lakeside, Ningaloo. Top right: Partial mortality of a bleached Acropora in the eastern Exmouth Gulf. Images: Zoe Richards, Curtin University, Western Australian Museum
South western Australia
Despite intense heat stress extending south of Ningaloo to Shark Bay and the Abrolhos, rangers from DBCA have not observed any coral bleaching at reefs in the Shark Bay area. Recent surveys across the Houtman Abrolhos Islands reported relatively high cover of healthy corals with little to no bleaching observed across reefs surrounding the islands.
The Houtman Abrolhos Islands represent the southernmost coral reef system in Western Australia; however hard corals do exist along some of our state's more temperate reefs. To date, there have been no known observations of coral bleaching across more southern reefs.
What's next
Current outlooks suggest warmer than normal sea surface temperatures through spring 2025 off Western Australia. The Western Australian Coral Bleaching Group will continue to monitor satellite monitoring and forecast products and resume heat stress and bleaching updates for WA's reefs in October.
WA 2024/25 Marine Heatwaves Symposium
A one-day symposium on the 12th August at the Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre at UWA will bring together researchers and managers from multiple disciplines working across the state to share data, observations and insights on the 2024/25 marine heatwave event and discuss impacts to coral reefs and other ecosystems across WA.
Beyond the surface - Understanding WA’s marine heatwave
Join us this National Science Week for a free public talk about the WA marine heatwave. Scientists studying the extent and impact of this event will give an update on the status of the marine heatwave and participate in a panel discussion about what it means and what comes next.
Tickets are free but registrations are essential as space is limited
This National Science Week event is presented by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Observations of Coral Bleaching
Coral bleaching, Scott Reef 2016. Photo: James Gilmour, AIMS
CORAL BLEACHING APP
We encourage the reporting of coral bleaching observations by the wider community. AIMS has a free mobile app for recording bleaching and submitting photographs.
The ArcGIS Field Maps App for Android or Apple devices is a simple tool for collecting geo-referenced coral bleaching data. To get started, download the app and register for a username by emailing Ben Radford at b.radford@aims.gov.au. To begin using the coral bleaching app, please refer to the user guide.
Alternatively, a bleaching observation datasheet has been created which can be printed out for completion by hand.
To email observations and supporting images, or for additional questions, please contact n.ryan@aims.gov.au. More information about coral bleaching is available at https://www.aims.gov.au/coral-bleaching
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Western Australia and Northern Territory and pay our respects to elders past, present and future. We honour their continuing culture, knowledge, beliefs and spiritual relationship and connection to Country. We also recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land and sea country on which the Western Australian Bleaching Group works, and as Australia’s first scientists. Through collaboration and two-way knowledge sharing, we can learn from each other. We will continue to build our relationships with Rangers and Traditional Owners throughout regional WA, to build on our coral bleaching knowledge, confirm predictions and measure the impacts to their sea Country.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Sea surface temperature (SST) summaries and coral bleaching predictions are based on the products provided by:
- Bureau of Meteorology Southern Hemisphere Monitoring
- Bureau of Meteorology Ocean Temperature Outlooks/ Coral Bleaching Risk
- NOAA Coral Reef Watch Regional Virtual Stations
- NOAA Coral Reef Watch Coral Bleaching Heat Stress Outlook
- IMOS Ocean Current
We rely heavily on the SST and heat stress predictions provided by NOAA and particularly Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). These organisations' models provide different, but complementary products. Differences in heat stress predictions among the products often reflect uncertainty in future conditions, particularly several months into the future. However, when the different products provide similar predictions of bleaching within 1 or 2 months, then there is a higher degree of confidence in the predictions.
WA Coral Bleaching Group
Nicole Ryan, James Gilmour, Jessica Benthuysen, Camille Grimaldi, Ben Radford, Damian Thomson, Tom Holmes, Claire Ross, Tahlia Bassett, Will Robbins, Arani Chandrapavan, Rachel Garcia, Jennifer Hoy, Scott Heron and Claire Spillman.
With special thanks to everyone who has contributed to the collection and communication of coral bleaching across WA's coral reefs.
The WA Coral Bleaching Group meets regularly throughout the spring - summer months to discuss coral bleaching risks to Western Australian reefs. The newsletter provides updates based on forecasts, satellite SST monitoring, and in-water and aerial surveys. If you would like to receive our updates click subscribe:
For additional enquiries, contact:
Nicole Ryan, AIMS
n.ryan@aims.gov.au
