Great Southern Reef - Our Best Kept Biodiversity Secret

The Great Barrier Reef is famous around the globe, yet Australia’s Great Southern Reef, a series of pristine, cold-water reefs, is relatively unknown. Join us to understand the true value of the Great Southern Reef, and the stories of our scientists fighting to protect it.

The Great Southern Reef covers over 8000 kilometres of coast, spanning south from Kalbarri, Western Australia around the entire southern coastline and up to Brisbane. Home to extensive underwater forests, and hundreds of unique species—it is one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. In the face of climate change, ocean warming and increasing pressure from natural resource exploitation, the protection of this pristine reef is difficult—but not impossible.

About the speaker

Sahira Bell is currently completing her Ph.D. in Marine Ecology at the University of Western Australia. Her research focuses on the impacts of climate change and ocean warming on temperate ecosystems, specifically focusing on seaweed forests and fish communities. She has grown up in, explored and researched areas of the Great Southern Reef all her life, and is deeply passionate about its protection.