Coral Propagation – Monthly Progress
At Kuda Huraa this month, we monitored a total of 153 existing frames, and transplanted 13 new frames around the island, kindly sponsored by guests (eleven) and online orders (two).
At Landaa, we transplanted 62 new coral frames, all kindly sponsored by guests (44 [*]), the Resort (13), and online orders (5), which in total added 3764 coral fragments onto the reef.
[*] Guest sponsors included a very generous corporate sponsorship of 35 medium-sized frames, completed thanks to a huge team effort collecting corals, constructing frames, outplanting, and monitoring, so a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone involved 🙏
In addition, we monitored (cleaned, repaired, photographed) 199 coral frames at various sites around the island. We have also been recycling and lifting coral frames around Landaa, and retransplanting 500+ coral fragments at several of our sites (Voavah, Dive, Elephant).
Coral Thermotolerant Experiments
Over 95% of coral research studies looking at elevated ocean temperatures use adult corals (with less than 5% studying settlement, and pre-/post-settlement). We have therefore decided to start our new thermotolerant experiments utilising newly settled Acropora secale from the November 2022 coral spawning event.
- McLachlan, R. H., Price, J. T., Solomon, S. L., & Grottoli, A. G. (2020). Thirty years of coral heat-stress experiments: a review of methods. Coral Reefs (Vol. 39, Issue 4).
Read our Reefscapers Diaries for further details and photographs of our ongoing coral propagation efforts and reef regeneration experiments, both in the Lab and out in the lagoon, updated each month. You may also be interested in our ongoing research and photography, studying coral spawning.
This month, we released our coral spawning video on YouTube and social media, detailing our research and the coral spawning process here in the Maldives. To date, our video has clocked up over 1000 views!