Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement

A historical collapse of Acropora coral assemblages at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef (GBR), occurred between 1920 and 1955, predating modern monitoring efforts. This previously undocumented decline, revealed through palaeoecological reconstructions using high-precision U-series dating of dead Acropora fragments, suggests chronic sediment flux and nutrient loading from European settlement as the ultimate cause. The study indicates remarkable long-term stability in coral community structure prior to this event, with few post-1980 dates found. The findings imply that current reef monitoring may be based on a significantly shifted baseline, highlighting the need for historical context in assessing human impacts on inshore reefs.

Roff, G., Clark, T. R., Reymond, C. E., Zhao, J.-x., Feng, Y., McCook, L. J., Done, T. J., & Pandolfi, J. M. (2013). Palaeoecological evidence of a historical collapse of corals at Pelorus Island, inshore Great Barrier Reef, following European settlement. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1750), 20122100. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2100