Corals of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have declined over the past 30 years. While reef state depends on the balance between disturbance and recovery, most studies have focused on the effects of disturbance on reef decline. We show that coral recovery rates across the GBR declined by an average of 84% between 1992 and 2010. Recovery was variable: Some key coral types had close to zero recovery by the end of that period, whereas some reefs exhibited high recovery. Our results indicate that coral recovery is sensitive to chronic but manageable pressures, and is suppressed for several years following acute disturbances. Loss of recovery capacity was partly explained by the cumulative effects of chronic pressures including water quality, warming, and sublethal effects of acute disturbances (cyclones, outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, and coral bleaching). Modeled projections indicate that recovery rates can respond rapidly to reductions in acute and chronic stressors, a result that is consistent with fast recovery observed on some reefs in the central and southern GBR since the end of the study period. A combination of local management actions to reduce chronic disturbances and global action to limit the effect of climate change is urgently required to sustain GBR coral cover and diversity.

中文翻译：

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在累积压力下大堡礁的恢复受损。

大堡礁（GBR）的珊瑚在过去30年中有所下降。尽管礁石状态取决于扰动和恢复之间的平衡，但大多数研究都集中在扰动对礁石下降的影响上。我们显示，从1992年到2010年，整个GBR的珊瑚恢复率平均下降了84％。恢复是可变的：到那个时期末，一些关键的珊瑚类型恢复了几乎为零，而某些珊瑚礁显示出很高的恢复。我们的结果表明，珊瑚的恢复对长期但可控制的压力敏感，并且在受到严重干扰后的数年内受到抑制。恢复能力的丧失部分地由长期压力的累积影响来解释，这些长期压力包括水质，变暖和急性干扰（旋风，荆棘冠海星爆发，和珊瑚漂白）。模拟预测表明，恢复速率可以对急性和慢性应激源的减少迅速做出反应，这一结果与自研究期结束以来在GBR中部和南部某些礁石上观察到的快速恢复一致。为了维持GBR珊瑚的覆盖和多样性，迫切需要结合地方管理措施以减少慢性干扰，并采取全球行动来限制气候变化的影响。