Houtman Abrolhos Coral Resilience

2025 - ongoing

Led by Dr Kate Quigley, this project investigates how coral reef ecosystems are responding to rising ocean temperatures and increasing marine heatwaves; one of the greatest threats to coral reefs globally.

The Houtman Abrolhos Islands are a rare and uniquely placed reef system, sitting at the intersection of tropical and temperate waters. This makes them an important natural laboratory for understanding coral resilience, adaptation, and the factors that allow certain reefs to persist under climate stress.

Fieldwork undertaken during the 2024-2025 marine heatwave provided time-critical insight into coral condition at the Abrolhos Islands. While widespread bleaching was recorded across many reef systems in Australia and internationally surveys identified coral communities at the Abrolhos that remained in comparatively healthy condition.

These findings document extraordinary heat tolerance in corals from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, confirmed through targeted laboratory-based experimental tests, and provide important implications for understanding coral resilience under extreme marine heat stress.