Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
---

Title: Can Lab-Grown Coral Restore Reefs Damaged By Climate Change?

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/09/13/2025...

Many coral reefs "have now turned ghostly white," reports CBS News - and "a
major culprit is climate change." SFGate adds that more than 50% of the
world's coral reefs have been lost, mostly over the past 10 years, according
to coral reef scientist Rebecca Albright at the California Academy of
Sciences. "If changes aren't made soon, 90% to 99% of the coral reefs that
are remaining could be deteriorated by 2050, Albright said..." But CBS News
notes that Albright's lab is the first in America to successfully spawn coral
to regenerate the reefs: The lab is mastering the art and science of creating
baby corals, and the scientists have brought their expertise into the wild.
The location: the second-largest reef in the world, known as the Mesoamerican
Reef, stretching some 700 miles along the coasts of Mexico, Belize,
Guatemala, and Honduras... Armed with test tubes, the scientists quickly dove
into the water and collected the tiny packets of gametes. Back on land, the
eggs were fertilized, incubated, and then brought back into the wild. "Then
we planted over 3,000 baby corals back to the reef," explained Albright. The
baby corals are now two months old. The Roatan staff will dive in a few
months to see how many survived. Scientists are worried because bleaching
events "are becoming more common," notes SFGate, "happening more frequently
and affecting more parts of the world... The most current event was confirmed
on April 15, 2024, and is still ongoing, impacting approximately 84% of the
world's coral reefs as of August 31. "It has been documented in at least 83
countries and territories."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

---
VRSS v2.1.180528