The Florida Aquarium’s four coral experts joined 11 other scientific and conservation organizations in one of the largest collaborative coral conservation efforts in Florida history.
The coral experts brought years of experience breeding and raising corals to the effort, spending more than 12 nights in the Florida Keys collecting eggs and sperm from Elkhorn coral colonies grown by Reef Renewal USA. The corals were held in an ocean-based coral nursery offshore of Tavernier in the Upper Florida Keys.
During their time in the Keys, the team created new genetic crosses and preserved genetic diversity that could be critical to the future of Florida’s Coral Reef. The effort produced 61,000 Elkhorn coral larvae and 101 new genetic crosses.
Some of the combinations of parent corals had never been made before.
Of the 61,000 larvae, 20,000 will continue growing at The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation Research Center, where scientists will support the corals through the next stages of development.
“This is what coral conservation looks like—long nights, precise science, and a team of people who are willing to show up when the opportunity comes,” said Keri O’Neil, director and senior scientist of The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation Program, in a press release. “Collecting elkhorn coral spawn in the ocean is an extremely challenging and demanding task, but our teams were committed to seeing it through.”
Other larvae were sent to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, The Reef Institute and the University of Miami.
