| Great Southern Reef | |
|---|---|
 An endemic sixbar coralfish (Tilodon sexfasciatus) explores the golden kelp at Greenly Island, South Australia | |
| Ecology | |
| Realm | Temperate Australasia |
| Biome | Kelp forest, rocky reef |
| Animals | Leafy seadragon, fairy penguin, Australian sea lion |
| Geography | |
| Area | 71,000 km2 (27,000 sq mi) |
| Country | Australia |
| States | Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, NSW, Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 35°00′14″S 135°57′37″E |
| Climate type | Temperate |
The Great Southern Reef is a system of interconnected reefs that spans the southern coast of continental Australia and Tasmania and extends as far north as Brisbane to the east and Kalbarri to the west. It covers 71,000 km2 (27,000 sq mi) of ocean and straddles five states, running along the coast for 8,000 km (5,000 mi).[1]
The Great Southern Reef is named after its world-famous neighbor to the north, the Great Barrier Reef, but has received a fraction of the attention and protection given to the latter. The Great Southern Reef is an important biodiversity hotspot and annually contributes more than AU$10 billion to the Australian economy.[2] The Australian rock lobster and abalone fisheries, together worth four times the value of all commercial fishing in the Great Barrier Reef, operate within the Great Southern Reef.[2] The robust health of the reef can be attributed to its cool, oxygen-rich waters and sprawling forests of giant and golden kelp. The kelp provides food and shelter for thousands of species, and its endemic species include all three known species of seadragon, one of the world's smallest species of penguin, and Australia's only endemic pinniped.
The Aboriginal people of Australia and Tasmania developed and practiced sustainable management of the Great Southern Reef's abundant resources for thousands of years before Western colonization. Modern scientific research on the ecology of the Great Southern Reef before 2015 was scant, and it continues to receive very little attention or resources compared to other marine ecosystems of similar ecological value. An estimated 10,000 species remain to be discovered. Giving the Great Southern Reef its name was part of an ongoing and concerted effort to raise the public's awareness of its existence, importance, and plight. Thanks to its location on the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, the reef has enjoyed stable environmental conditions for most of its history, but human-caused threats like anthropogenic climate change, overfishing, and marine animal invasions have caused significant damage to its unique habitats, including kelp die-offs and disruptions to the food web. The cooler waters that support the biodiversity of the Great Southern Reef make it and its highly specialized inhabitants especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
- ^ Bennett, Wernberg; et al. (2016). "The 'Great Southern Reef': social, ecological and economic value of Australia's neglected kelp forests". Marine and Freshwater Research. 67: 47. doi:10.1071/mf15232.
- ^ a b Wernberg, Bennett; et al. (2015). "Australia's 'other' reef is worth more than $10 billion a year - but have you heard of it?".