By Piper Duffy

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt

Marine Biology

Thu 21 May 2026 at 8:02am

A coral reef near Geraldton, Australia, stayed healthy despite very hot water.

In short:

Scientists studied a coral reef near Western Australia that did not get hurt by very hot water.

In 2025, a lot of the Ningaloo reef got bleached because of hot water.

What's next?

Researchers want to learn from this reef to help other reefs.

A coral reef in Western Australia was not hurt by a big heatwave.

The reef near Geraldton was okay after a big heatwave in 2025.

This discovery gives hope for coral reefs, which are getting hurt by hot water.

Scientists are worried about coral reefs getting hurt.

Researcher Kate Quigley studied the Abrolhos Islands during the heatwave.

The Environment Minister of Western Australia wants to know how bad the Ningaloo reef is hurt.

The researchers were prepared to see a lot of hurt coral, but they did not.

The reef's special location helped it stay healthy.

The Abrolhos Islands have a lot of different animals and plants.

There are not many places like the Abrolhos Islands in the world.

The Abrolhos Islands are where the warm and cool ocean meet.

The reefs there have animals from both warm and cool water.

Some animals at the Abrolhos Islands are found only there.

Kate Quigley hopes this discovery gives people hope for the ocean.

The water temperature last year was much higher than usual.

A four-degree increase in water temperature is considered very bad.

The Ningaloo reef had a much bigger increase in water temperature.

The Ningaloo reef got hurt very badly in 2025.

Hope for the future

Scientists want to study the Abrolhos reef more to learn why it is healthy.

Scientists want to know why the Abrolhos reef is so strong and how to help other reefs.

The Abrolhos reef can help us learn how to protect other reefs.

The Abrolhos Islands are very special and important for the fight against climate change.

The reef shows us that there are still healthy reefs worth protecting.

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt — local news in your inbox

Thu 21 May 2026 at 8:02am

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