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The process used the coral’s annual spawning event, which sees a “kaleidoscope” of fragile coral sperm and eggs floating on the surface of the water.
Scientists captured samples of this oil slick and transported it to floating “maggot nursery tanks” anchored on sandy areas of the reef.
The team then monitored fertilization rates and cultured the larvae for five to seven days. This week, once they were fully developed, the scientists released the larvae onto target areas that need live corals.
This is the fifth time the technique has been used on a damaged section of Queensland’s natural wonder. The process is started for the first time in 2016 in Heron Island.
Professor Harrison told 9news.com.au that the latest project used three local tour operators and is already showing signs of success.
“Just a few days ago we splashed some of the larvae back onto the damaged areas of the reef on Hook Island and managed to get some of them to settle.”
Professor Harrison believes that in three to five years whole miles of damaged coral reef could potentially be re-seeded.
“Every time we go to these coral spawning events we learn more about how to make the process more efficient,” he said.
“Over the next few years we hope to grow hundreds of millions of larvae.
“Hopefully in a few years we will have dozens of groups with their own ships that will catch coral eggs, grow larvae and release it on damaged areas.”
Professor Harrison has spent more than 30 years studying the intricacies of coral reproduction and has dreamed of Coral IVF “for decades”.
One of the most encouraging aspects of his research, he said, was that the process increases the chances of larvae with strong genes seeping through the population creating what he called “enhanced coral.”
“Even if high fertilization rates are achieved naturally, most of the larvae produced end up moving away from the parent reef,” he said.
“What we are trying to do now is save the surviving coral populations. We know that in many areas of the reef more than half of the corals have been removed by bleaching events and starfish and crown of thorns and similar.
“By taking eggs from surviving corals, we know that the next generation is more likely to survive because they come from parents who survived harmful events.”
Development couldn’t happen fast enough, as the Great Barrier Reef underwent its third mass bleaching event last summer.
While it’s too early to tell whether this year will see another similar event, Great Barrier Reef Foundation CEO Anna Marsden says the signs point to one.
“When it arrives in February, we will start keeping an eye on it,” Ms. Marsden told 9news.com.au.
“There are expectations and concerns that we will have a hot summer and conditions that normally mean bleaching, heat, low clouds and light wind, are there. This means that the water gets hotter and the coral is cooking.”
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts also pointed to a hot summer on the way.
Despite the extreme weather warning, Professor Harrison has “real hope” that Coral IVF could help diseased coral reefs around Queensland and around the world.
“Now that we have demonstrated this technique on the Great Barrier Reef, we are confident that it can be applied to most other reef areas around the world,” he said.
“If we get to kilometer scales within the next three or five years, we have real hope of repairing coral communities fast enough to counter the threats of rising sea temperatures, crown of thorns outbreaks and super cyclones.”
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