(Image is for illustrative purposes)
Words: Lee-Ann Steyn/ Getaway Magazine
According to CNN, a remarkable discovery off Australia’s coast has revealed the largest known coral colony in the world, thanks to the efforts of a mother-and-daughter duo of citizen scientists.
Spanning an impressive 111 meters, roughly the length of a football field, and covering nearly 4,000 square meters, the coral has been described as ‘among the most significant coral structures ever recorded on the Great Barrier Reef,’ and the largest mapped coral colony globally, according to conservation group Citizens of the Reef.
The colony, a J-shaped formation of Pavona clavus, was located late last year by Sophie Kalkowski-Pope, marine operations coordinator at Citizens of the Reef, and her mother Jan Pope, an experienced diver and underwater photographer.
Having dived at the site a week earlier, Jan recognised its unique scale. The pair returned with measuring equipment to document it properly.
‘The moment we entered the water, I immediately understood the significance,’ said Sophie. ‘It took a three-minute video just to swim across the colony.’
Mapping the giant coral
The colony’s size was confirmed using both manual underwater measurements and high-resolution imagery captured from above the water.
This data was then used to create a detailed 3D model, which will allow scientists to monitor changes in the coral over time.
‘Spatial modelling like this is vital,’ explained Serena Mou, research engineer at Queensland University of Technology’s Centre for Robotics.
‘It lets us return months or years later and make exact comparisons to see how the coral evolves.’
Preliminary research suggests the site’s strong tidal currents and relatively low exposure to cyclone waves may have contributed to the colony’s extraordinary size. The precise location has been withheld to protect it from unintended damage.
Protecting a fragile reef
The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest living structure, supports an extraordinary diversity of marine life. Yet it has faced repeated mass bleaching events, turning vast sections ghostly white.
Global bleaching, worsened by record ocean temperatures since 2023, now affects over 80% of the world’s coral reefs, threatening the survival of many species.
The discovery came as part of the Great Reef Census, a conservation initiative led by Citizens of the Reef that uses citizen scientists to gather large-scale reef imagery.
‘The census helps pinpoint the most crucial areas for reef recovery,’ said Pete Mumby of the University of Queensland’s Marine Spatial Ecology Lab. Andy Ridley, CEO of Citizens of the Reef, added that initiatives like this show the impact of ‘people power’ in conservation.
Citizen scientists making a difference
Michael Sweet, professor of molecular ecology at the University of Derby, described the colony as ‘bigger than any coral I have personally seen.’
He noted that its survival and growth are especially extraordinary given the widespread threats facing corals today, from bleaching and disease to pollution.
‘This discovery highlights how citizen scientists can play a key role in monitoring and protecting our planet,’ Sweet said.
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Picture: Erick Morales Oyola/Unsplash
Compiled by Lee-Ann Steyn/ Getaway Magazine
