Professor Carlo Leifert is the Director of the Centre for Organics Research. Professor Leifert has co-authored new research which shows that milk from cows grazing outdoors has more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids than milk from cows raised indoors on grain. The paper published in Food Science and Nutrition journal is ‘Enhancing the fatty acid profile of milk through forage-based rations, with nutrition modeling of diet outcomes’.
Coral researchers are working night and day on the Great Barrier Reef to complete a radically new approach to mass coral re-seeding, rearing millions of hardy coral babies following the reef’s famous mass coral spawning event.
The ‘Coral IVF’ team led by Southern Cross University’s Professor Peter Harrison, with researchers Katie Chartrand (James Cook University) and Associate Professor David Suggett (University of Technology Sydney), captured millions of coral sperm and eggs during the ‘synchronised sex’ event and have successfully reared and ‘turbo charged’ the coral larvae with algae symbionts, ready to replenish heavily-degraded sections of reef.
Professor Harrison said the Larval Restoration Team had worked tirelessly at Reef Magic’s Marine World pontoon off Cairns since the mass spawning ‘underwater snowstorm’ began the night of November 17, following the November full moon. He says the team’s nocturnal project is paying off, now with millions of healthy coral larvae swimming around in six floating rearer pools ready to be dispersed and grow into new coral communities.
For the first time the team is trialling the newly designed ‘coral-nursery’ rearer pools, turbo-charging the baby coral’s chance of survival through co-culturing with algae, and tracking their progress using new ultra-sensitive optical sensors in real-time.
“We are using my newly-designed spawn catchers and nursery pool nets which have enabled us to catch more of the coral spawn slick and rear millions more larvae than ever before – and the results are looking very promising,” said Professor Harrison, who first discovered the mass coral spawning phenomenon with colleagues on the Great Barrier Reef 38 years ago.
This time, one of the ground-breaking advances from the team including Southern Cross Uni PhD researcher Nadine Boulotte is co-culturing the coral larvae with their algal partners (microscopic zooxanthellae) to turbo-charge their chance of survival, before being transplanted back onto the Great Barrier Reef.
“This innovative technique is like giving the baby corals a ‘battery pack’ by allowing the coral larvae to take up symbiotic algae, giving them the potential to acquire more energy, and therefore grow faster and survive better. If we succeed in increasing their survival rate it can make a big difference in being able to scale up future restoration processes,” Professor Harrison said.
Researcher Nadine Boulotte said “I’m excited to see the results from my laboratory experiments being trialled on the reef for the first time.”
JCU Senior Researcher Officer Katie Chartrand has been carefully growing the algal cultures in the lead up to the project and says the coral larvae are able to acquire symbiotic microalgae much earlier than they would in the wild.
“We have grown more than 10 billion cells of a more thermally-tolerant species of algae for our developing larvae to take up rather than the baby coral securing this symbiont well after settling. The next step will be to monitor how these energy-boosted larvae survive and grow in order to test if this technique improves coral recovery out on the reef,” Ms Chartrand said.
“Another critical component for our project to succeed is the partnerships with reef tour operators Aroona Boat Charters and Reef Magic, who have been providing key support for the research on Moore Reef.”
UTS Associate Professor David Suggett performed the initial algal culture process, and in another exciting first for the project team, was able to track the uptake of these algae symbionts by the coral larvae in near real time using new optical sensors.
“This is a world first – our new sensors are so sensitive they are able track uptake and photosynthetic activity as the algae initiate symbiosis with the larvae. These algae give the larvae a metabolic boost that normally they would not receive until metamorphosing on the reef into baby corals,” Associate Professor Suggett said.
Andy Ridley, CEO of conservation organisation Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, said partnering with experienced Cairns tourism operators including Aroona Boat Charters and Reef Magic, was not only crucial to the project’s success, but a drawcard for reef tourists who see the project first-hand.
This project is a collaboration between the University researchers and key industry partners including Aroona Boat Charters and Reef Magic, and is funded by the Queensland and Australian Governments Coral Abundance Challenge.
The ‘conception’ of Coral IVF
It was when Professor Peter Harrison and colleagues first discovered mass coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef 38 years ago that he first conceived the idea of using ‘Coral IVF’ to re-establish healthy breeding coral communities on damaged reefs devastated by coral bleaching.
The award-winning discovery of mass coral spawning radically changed scientific views about how corals on the Great Barrier Reef and around the world reproduce. The settling of coral larvae onto the reef is essential for restoring the next generation of coral communities.
Professor Harrison has been successfully trialling his unique restoration process at ever-increasing scales in the Philippines and on the Great Barrier Reef for the past seven years. He and his team capture spawn from corals that have survived bleaching devastation and keep them in ‘nursery enclosures’ so they don’t float away before they are capable of settling on the reef. The team then continues to monitor the reefs during subsequent months to track how well the coral babies survive and grow into new colonies that can become sexually mature and begin reproducing within three years.
While Professor Harrison’s Coral IVF process is a blueprint that could be scaled globally to help restore damaged and dying reefs, the team cautions that restoration alone cannot save these beautiful complex ecosystems that require urgent action on climate change to ensure their survival.
Learn and see more: Millions of coral babies ‘turbo-charged’ in floating nurseries to restore damaged parts of the Great Barrier Reef
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Coral reef restoration
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- Scientists used loudspeakers to make dead coral reefs sound healthy. Fish flocked to them.on December 1, 2019 at 6:37 am
On Friday, British and Australian researchers rolled out another unorthodox strategy that they say could help restoration efforts: broadcasting the sounds of healthy reefs in dying ones. In a six-week ...
- That sounds a bit fishyon December 1, 2019 at 5:06 am
Young fish can be attracted to degraded coral reefs by the sounds of healthy reefs, new research suggests. Australian and British scientists placed underwater loudspeakers on patches of dead coral ...
- Underwater loudspeakers can help restore coral reefon November 30, 2019 at 9:48 pm
Scientists have reportedly discovered a new tool that could help with coral reef restoration efforts. A team of researchers and marine biologists set up underwater loudspeakers to play recorded sounds ...
- Underwater loudspeakers could help restore damaged coral reefson November 29, 2019 at 9:18 pm
Scientists may have a discovered a new tool to help with coral reef restoration efforts. It involves playing the dulcet sounds of nature under the waves. Scientists know the quietness of damaged coral ...
- Sounds of the past give new hope for coral reef restorationon November 29, 2019 at 3:23 am
"Healthy coral reefs are remarkably noisy places—the crackle of snapping shrimp and the whoops ... "Acoustic enrichment is a promising technique for management on a local basis. "If combined with ...
- Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitaton November 29, 2019 at 2:12 am
We compare fish community development on acoustically enriched coral-rubble patch reefs with acoustically unmanipulated controls. Acoustic enrichment enhances fish community development across all ...
- Robots Deliver Coral Larvae to Damaged Great Barrier Reefon November 27, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Harrison pioneered the coral larval restoration technique (known as coral IVF) which has settled millions of coral babies back onto the reef this week, with coral polyps already starting to grow. “The ...
- Scientists reveal next phase of ‘Coral IVF’ reef restoration projecton November 27, 2019 at 11:02 am
collecting and then distributing live coral larvae on damaged parts of the Reef, have revealed the next phase of their reef restoration strategy. Project leader Professor Peter Harrison of Southern ...
- Floating nurseries and robotic fleet deliver coral babies to damaged parts of Great Barrier Reefon November 27, 2019 at 7:34 am
Professor Harrison pioneered the coral larval restoration technique (known as coral IVF), and says this week the team has settled millions of coral babies back onto the reef, with coral polyps already ...
- These corals could survive climate change — and help save the world’s reefson November 27, 2019 at 3:15 am
science director of the Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration at the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida. “We really haven’t seen any natural ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Coral IVF
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Coral IVF
- Robots Deliver Coral Larvae to Damaged Great Barrier Reefon November 27, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Harrison pioneered the coral larval restoration technique (known as coral IVF) which has settled millions of coral babies back onto the reef this week, with coral polyps already starting to grow. “The ...
- Scientists reveal next phase of ‘Coral IVF’ reef restoration projecton November 27, 2019 at 11:02 am
Scientists involved with the “Coral IVF” project, collecting and then distributing live coral larvae on damaged parts of the Reef, have revealed the next phase of their reef restoration strategy.
- Floating nurseries and robotic fleet deliver coral babies to damaged parts of Great Barrier Reefon November 27, 2019 at 7:34 am
Professor Harrison pioneered the coral larval restoration technique (known as coral IVF), and says this week the team has settled millions of coral babies back onto the reef, with coral polyps already ...
- Scientists use ‘coral IVF’ to save damaged parts of Great Barrier Reefon November 26, 2019 at 4:00 pm
In the process dubbed “Coral IVF”, experts used large inflatable “coral nurseries” to grow coral larvae during the annual spawning event two weeks ago. Deploying an underwater robot, millions of baby ...
- Florida couple gives birth to boy thanks to ‘Win a Baby’ IVF conteston November 23, 2019 at 4:50 am
The winners of the contest in 2017 were Krista and Anthony Rivera of Cape Coral. The couple welcomed ... payment” and remove some of the stigma. IVF costs, on average, roughly $20,000 a cycle ...
- What the 'Win a Baby' Contest Really Says About Fertility Treatments in Americaon November 22, 2019 at 4:03 pm
Despite the unusual name, the contest wasn’t sinister at all—the winner was guaranteed to receive one round of IVF treatments for free. Earlier this year, the winning couple, Krista and Anthony Rivera ...
- A couple got free IVF through a 'Win a Baby' radio contest after facing cancer and infertility — and then had a babyon November 21, 2019 at 9:42 am
The Cape Coral, Florida couple would only be able to have children through in vitro fertilization, an expensive procedure they couldn't afford, FOX 4 reported. On a whim, in 2017, the husband and wife ...
- Florida couple gives birth to boy thanks to radio station's 'Win a Baby' conteston November 19, 2019 at 1:31 am
offered one woman the chance to receive a free round of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and all the medication needed. The sweepstakes called for videos from women explaining why they'd be a great mom, ...
- 'Win a Baby' contest winners have a boyon November 18, 2019 at 9:04 pm
CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- A once-in-a-lifetime radio sweepstakes helped a Cape Coral ... “Out of nowhere, we got the news that I was diagnosed with testicular cancer,” said Anthony. Their only option was ...
- Florida Couple Welcomes Son After Winning Contest for Free IVF: 'A Dream Come True'on November 18, 2019 at 10:17 am
Back in 2017, Florida radio station B103.9 held a “Win a Baby” contest, which covered the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment and the accompanying medication for a lucky couple struggling ...