The young corals from our symbiont research have now “returned” to their parents’ home reef 🪸🎉
We say “returned” because these coral offspring were spawned and reared as part of our coral conservation aquaculture efforts at the The National Sea Simulator (SeaSim). They have also been inoculated with microalgal symbionts cultured in AIMS facilities.
This new generation is part of over two decades of research at AIMS into the relationship between corals, their symbionts, and the threats they face.
The microscopic algae symbionts live within coral tissues, providing the bulk of the corals’ energy through photosynthesis. The breakdown of this relationship under stress leads to coral bleaching.
Just as there are many different types of corals, there are many different symbionts. And some are better than others at dealing with things like heat stress.
Over the past year, the team has achieved two significant milestones:
📆 In the span of a year, they have established symbiont cultures from resilient parents at their home reef, and raised enough of these solar-powered partners for use in our coral nursery.
🧪 The scale of these symbiont cultures is unmatched anywhere else in the world, producing well over a hundred litres.
Learn more about the importance of this research for the future of our reefs:
https://www.aims.gov.au/research-topics/featured-projects/reef-spawning-research-aims/boosting-coral-resilience-microalgal-symbionts
🎥 by Luke Lythgoe 🔬 by Saskia Jurriaans
