The Great Barrier Reef we stand to lose – in pictures

The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia Photograph: Peter Adams/Corbis

Hard corals vie for space and energy-giving sunlight off Cairns Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

Clownfish weave between the tentacles of a magnificent sea anemone Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Corbis

Cardinalfish zip by a hawksbill turtle as it rests among tiny hydroids Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

A chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), whose many tentacles do not have suckers Photograph: Reinhard Dirscherl/Corbis

A Bennett's feather star (Oxycomanthus bennetti) holds up its arms to trap food, as it clings to a harp gorgonian (Ctenocella pectinata) off Lizard Island Photograph: Fred Bavendam/Corbis

A school of crescent-tail bigeye (Priacanthus hamrur), also off Lizard Island Photograph: Fred Bavendam/Corbis

A gobyfish on an elephant ear sponge at Challenger Bay Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

A manta ray cruises over the Yongala shipwreck – a popular diving spot and tourist attraction near Townsville Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

Coral on the Great Detached Reef, which is to the far north-east of Australia towards Papua New Guinea, and is separated from the continental shelf by a 1000-metre drop-off Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

A pair of common reef cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) above a patch of hard coral in the Great Detached Reef Photograph: Stephen Frink/Corbis

Cardinalfish gleam against a gorgonian sea fan on Three Sisters Reef Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

An effervescent ribbon eel Photograph: Gary Bell/Corbis

Marine life in the Low Isle mangroves off Port Douglas Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

Tiger sharks patrol in the open blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef Photograph: David Doubilet/NGC/Getty Images

A spectacular sand bar Photograph: Annie Griffiths Belt/NGC/Getty Images