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The idea to restore coral reefs by intervening in the breeding process of coral came to Peter Harrison while he was drifting through trillions of coral eggs and sperm in an underwater snowstorm at Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Harrison, a professor at Australia's Southern Cross University, began his research in the early 1980's and developed a process that he describes as something akin to in-vitro fertilization for the reef.
In November, his research hit a remarkable milestone when coral babies born through the first coral IVF trial on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016 became mature coral and began to spawn, hopefully seeding a new generation of coral.
The Great Barrier Reef is facing a perfect cocktail of destruction, and Harrison says human intervention is necessary to help repopulate it. Climate change can be at least partially responsible for pollution, coastal development, and storms. Reefs are losing breeding corals much faster than most of them are getting enough larvae to replenish naturally, he says.
UNESCO says Australia's Great Barrier Reef isn't in danger yet. Environmentalists and divers disagree.
The good news about his coral babies couldn't have come at a better time for the Great Barrier Reef, which is the world's largest coral reef system, stretching 1,420 miles along the northeast coast of Australia. In the last five years, the reef has experienced three mass bleaching events in which warmer than normal water causes coral to expel the algae that give them their vibrant colors and help them survive. Many corals die as a result of the stress of mass bleaching events. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that temperatures on the reef could rise enough to cause another mass bleaching event by the end of January.
The impact on the reef has been caused by these types of events. The Great Barrier Reef has lost more than 50% of its coral since 1995 due to warmer water caused by climate change according to a study released in 2020.
Harrison, who has earned the title of "coral IVF pioneer", may know more about how corals get it on than anyone else. He was part of the team that discovered the Great Barrier Reef's coral breed during a single yearly mass spawning event. That discovery changed the world's understanding of coral sexual reproduction.
UNESCO says Australia's Great Barrier Reef isn't in danger yet. Environmentalists and divers disagree.
Harrison starts his coral IVF process by taking matter from multiple coral spawning slicks around the reef, which form in a pinkish film on the ocean's surface during mass spawning events. He and his team use floating nets with booms similar to those used to contain oil spills, or a net that resembles a modified swimming pool skimmer.
The eggs and sperm from different colonies are mixed to maximize the chances of fertilization. The floating pools are anchored near the reef so that they can be kept from drifting away, and the larvae can be left to grow in them for about a week.
When the time is right, the larvae are settled on the reefs. This can be accomplished by opening the bottom of the net, or by piping the larvae directly onto the reefs. LarvalBots are artificial intelligence-enabled robots that work like an underwater crop duster. The coral can be put onto small bits of dead coral to be transferred onto the reef.
I tried a lab-grown fish. It could help save our oceans.
The work of Harrison could be used to replant coral reefs around the world. He hopes to take his approach to reefs around the world. A study published in the journal One Earth00474-7 states that half of the world's coral reefs have died since the 1950s due to climate change, pollution and overfishing. It means the loss of habitats for sea creatures and protection for coastal communities, which are becoming more vulnerable to extreme weather events. Local economies are supported by Reefs by creating jobs and drawing snorkel-toting tourists.
A professor of biology at a university in Australia says that coral IVF research could be used to help the reef adapt to changing climate and water conditions. A "sun shield" that can be sprayed onto the ocean's surface is one of the creative solutions being worked on to save the reef.
Hughes cautions that unless climate change is addressed, any human intervention in reef communities will be like trying to fix a broken leg with a bandaid.
I tried a lab-grown fish. It could help save our oceans.
Australia is one of the world's biggest exporters of coal and gas, but it is lagging behind on climate action. Climate change is the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef, according to UNESCO, which recommended that it be placed on a list of World Heritage sites that are in danger. The UNESCO decided to delay a decision on whether to label the reef an "endangered" area.
Harrison believes his solution can play an important role in saving the world's reefs. Harrison hopes that this will buy us enough decades so that we can continue to have functioning and breeding corals on enough reefs so that when we do manage climate change down to a more sensible level, we will still have corals and reef systems on our planet.
The Great Barrier Reef is being degraded by pollution and climate change. Could 'Coral IVF' save it?
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