Coral spawning comes to TV, like a live grand finale show

Speaking from Southern Cross University’s Lismore campus, where he is the director of the Marine Ecology Research Center, Harrison is tackling the logistics of combining two different types of programs: research and television. Returning from an early trip to the Great Barrier Reef, he is already packing pallets of gear to transport goods north as preparations that began in early 2019 come to an end.

Programmed to match experts’ predictions about when coral will spawn, which is related to the lunar cycle, Reef LiveLive television broadcasts are directed by documentary director Karina Holden. In addition to a study panel led by Questions and answersHamish Macdonald, there are teams of experts linked by satellites at either end of the coral reef, which stretches over 2,300 kilometers of the Australian coast, with production personnel and vehicles with remote cameras above and below the water.

“Karina’s goal is to create memorable television, but also to help people understand how fragile coral and reef systems are. It will be good television, but it will also be educational, ”says Harrison. “I hope anyone who sees it understands the fragility of corals and coral reefs a little more clearly. What I’d really like to see is that it inspires a new generation of young people to work on marine science and hopefully become leaders in the future. “

Harrison himself was only 23 years old when his research team first discovered and documented coral spawning at a reef on Magnetic Island near Townsville in 1981. Four decades later, he traversed much of the of the Great Barrier Reef, a complex and intertwined series of ecosystems covering nearly 350,000 square kilometers. He speaks eloquently not only about coral, one of the first animals in evolutionary terms on our planet, but about the damage done to the Great Barrier Reef by global warming.

“The Great Barrier Reef is still beautiful, but was severely damaged by bleaching events in 2016 and 2017, and then one earlier this year. Whenever mass bleaching occurs, due to water heating, coral is lost, “says Harrison.” For something that has been on the planet for so long, coral is very demanding from an environmental point of view. They adapt more slowly than increases in water temperature.

“On a personal level, I always try to be optimistic because we cannot give up, but I am extremely concerned about the future of coral reefs on our planet,” he adds.

“At the moment we know that the rate of warming is exceeding the evolutionary capacity of many corals. If we don’t learn early to manage climate change globally, it becomes increasingly difficult to save the remaining coral systems and coral reefs that are still functioning. “

Coral spawning is a massive scale reproductive event. Trillions of eggs and spermatozoa are released simultaneously from the coral, which is often hermaphrodite and therefore provides the necessary elements of both sexes (a complex array of membranes prevents reproduction). When not providing commentary during broadcasts, Harrison will oversee a research team focused on breeding improvement to effectively restore depleted coral reefs.

Television stars can sometimes not cooperate and that risk extends to the Great Barrier Reef. About one in 10 years, spawning does not happen exactly as expected, due to subtle changes in the environment detected by the coral. With two nights allotted, the hope is that even if one doesn’t occur, the other will happen and that as a visual spectacle it will outperform previous benchmarks such as that of the BBC. Blue planet documentary series, as well as satisfying a widespread hunger to connect with nature that has been exacerbated by the constraints of 2020.

“We all deserve something similar after the year we’ve had,” says Harrison. “I really hope Reef Live sets a new benchmark for live television “.

Reef Live is on ABC, Friday 4 December, at 8.30pm, and Sunday 6 December, at 8.40pm.