A James Cook University researcher has found more than three quarters of Australians regard the Great Barrier Reef as part of their national identity and nearly 90 per cent believe it is under threat from climate change. JCU's Jeremy Goldberg commissioned two professional surveys of around 1,000 people each as part of his PhD, conducted at JCU and CSIRO. 

He said the survey's results were surprising. "We expected people to care about the Reef, but the strength of that connection was a revelation."

77 per cent of people felt the Great Barrier Reef was part of their identity as Australians and 43 per cent of people listed it as the most inspiring Australian icon, more than five times the level of Uluru, the second most inspiring icon.

Mr Goldberg said the results produced another surprise too, with a huge number of Australians concerned about the effect of climate change on the Reef. 

"89 per cent of people thought climate change was a threat to the Reef and 54 per cent said they would be personally affected if the health of the Great Barrier Reef declined," he said. 

"There seems to be a difference between the level of concern the public has for the health of the Reef due to climate change and the level of concern expressed in the media." 

It was the first nationally representative poll about the Great Barrier Reef in terms of location, gender, age and other demographic variables. "We sought to have a solid representation of the Australian public, not just Queensland stakeholders or capital cities as other studies have done," said Mr Goldberg.