A massive coral has just been discovered on the Great Barrier Reef, more than 10 metres wide – and it’s all thanks to citizen scientists, undertaking reef surveys in Queensland’s Palm Island Group, about 60km north-west of Townsville. Estimated to be between 421 and 438 years old, the coral has been named Muga dhambi (‘big coral’) by the traditional custodians of the islands, the Manbarra people.
Cosmos spoke to researchers Adam Smith and Nathan Cook from Reef Ecologic about this new find and how citizen scientists are making a difference in the fight for the reef.
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Originally published by Cosmos as Coral crusaders
Lauren Fuge
Lauren Fuge is the deputy editor of Cosmos. She holds a BSc in physics from the University of Adelaide and a BA in English and creative writing from Flinders University.
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