An artificial fertilization method being used on corals in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef appears to be working.
According to Southern Cross University, a team of researchers in recent years undertook a mass coral re-seeding effort dubbed “Coral IVF.”
Scientists captured millions of coral sperm and eggs during the “synchronised sex” event and have successfully reared and “turbo charged” the coral larvae with algae symbionts, ready to replenish heavily-degraded sections of reef, according to the university.
Peter Harrison, head of SCU’s Marine Ecology Research Centre, earlier this month told Reuters:
“This proves that the larvae restoration technique works just as we predicted and we can grow very large corals from tiny microscopic larvae within just a few years.”
To learn more, check out the video below or go to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation website.
