Coral Conservation Efforts: Scientists Transplant Crossbred Corals onto Miami Reef

Scientists from the University of Miami, the Florida Aquarium, and Tela Coral have embarked on a collaborative effort to transplant crossbred coral fragments onto a Miami reef devastated by bleaching two years ago. The initiative, led by Andrew Baker, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School, aims to help reefs survive rising ocean temperatures due to global warming and climate change.

The crossbreeding strategy involves introducing corals from the Caribbean, specifically from a warm reef off Tela, Honduras, which has warmer water conditions similar to those Florida will face in the next century. The goal is to create corals that are more thermally tolerant, enabling them to withstand the impacts of global warming.

Elkhorn corals, a vital species in Florida's reef ecosystem, are in serious decline due to coral bleaching and warming sea temperatures. The transplantation effort seeks to revive these corals and create a more diverse and resilient reef ecosystem.

The divers planted the corals onto small concrete bases along the reef, arranging them in a way that will allow for comparison of the performance of corals with Honduran and Florida parents.

Key Takeaways:

• Scientists from the University of Miami, the Florida Aquarium, and Tela Coral are transplanting crossbred coral fragments onto a Miami reef devastated by bleaching two years ago.
• The crossbreeding strategy involves introducing corals from a warm reef off Tela, Honduras, to create corals that are more thermally tolerant.
• Elkhorn corals, a vital species in Florida's reef ecosystem, are in serious decline due to coral bleaching and warming sea temperatures.
• The transplantation effort aims to revive these corals and create a more diverse and resilient reef ecosystem.
• The team will study how the corals with Honduran parents compare to the ones that are entirely from Florida.
• The goal of the project is to develop a blueprint for sharing corals across the Caribbean and working together to address the impacts of global warming.

Statistics:

• 95% of Elkhorn corals on Florida's reefs died due to coral bleaching.
• 2 degrees Celsius (35.6 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer water conditions in the reef off Tela, Honduras, compared to Florida.
• 20 years: Andrew Baker's tenure at the University of Miami.
• 2020: When some of the corals spawned in the Florida Aquarium's laboratory arrived at the aquarium.
• 2021: Year when scientists were working to speed up the coral's evolutionary clock to breed "super corals" that can better withstand the impacts of global warming.

Sources:

• Cody Jackson and Freida Frisaro
• University of Miami
• Florida Aquarium
• Tela Coral
• Andrew Baker, professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School
• Keri O'Neil, director and senior scientist with the Florida Aquarium's Coral Conservation Program
• Juli Berwald, co-founder of Tela Cora