DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Scientists at Nova Southeastern University are sharing a rare look at a marine mission that aims to pump life back into coral reefs.
Researchers hope the project will be a game-changer in the South Florida ecosystem.
The scientists at the university are performing a matchmaker between the corals.
“So this is a brood stock tank, and this is the corals are expected to spawn today,” said Joana Figueiredo.
Inside NSU’s Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach, researchers are waiting for a rare moment: Coral Spawning. An act that only happens once a year.
Researchers said the corals have the process down to a science.
“They are very synchronized, so we actually know from historical data what is the day and the hour that each species will spawn,” said Figueiredo.
The brain coral releases eggs and sperm into the water, which scientists collect to create baby corals in the lab.
Staff said the coral is a little pampered.
“So we held these corals in the aquarium, and we tried to imitate all the conditions they would have in the ocean, so we keep the water quality really good. We have used these lights that mimic the sunlight and the moonlight, and we change the temperature to mimic what would happen on a reef. We feed them, so they’re very pampered,” said Figueiredo.
The lab uses special lighting to replicate sunsets, moonlight, and the movement of the Earth, mimicking conditions corals would experience in the ocean.
“So they don’t have watches, right? So they use the movements of the Earth, the sun, and the moonlight cycles as their watch, as their clock, right?”
7News cameras captured tiny specks floating in the water. Scientists said they are future corals.
According to the team, by the end of the day on Tuesday, the tiny larvae will start swimming around the tanks, looking for a place to settle and grow into baby corals.
The corals are raised in the lab before being planted in the ocean.
NSU said this isn’t being kept to themselves. They are training other organizations across Florida to do the same thing.
“So right now in Florida, our coral populations need as much help as they can get, and so every technique that we can use to produce more coral is going to be beneficial for our community,” said Alex Neufield from the Coral Restoration Foundation.
The impact goes beyond pretty underwater views.
“So when the waves are approaching the coastline, it hits the reef and breaks the waves, which means that we’re not going to have as much erosion on our coastline,” said Figueiredo.
The university says some of the baby corals grown in the lab will eventually be returned to the ocean, in hopes of helping save the declining coral ecosystem.
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