Members of the Coral Nurture project are taking living donor corals and fixing them to dead coral to help preserve life. “I didn’t want to feel helpless anymore,” says scientist Christine Roper
When you listen underwater the process of replanting a coral reef sounds disconcertingly like carpentry.
The tap, tap, tap resonates crisply through the warm winter water. It is louder than the scraping of the parrot fish gnawing away at living reef nearby, louder even than the breath in your ears.Once attached the living coral continues to grow. Its hard exoskeleton creeps over the clip and in the right circumstances continues to thrive.
To get a sense of the scale of the carnage it helps to think of a swath of life the size of Italy, obliterated. It helps to remind yourself that the loss is animal rather than vegetable. The death is patchworked rather than uniform across the sea floor, and is worse in shallow warmer reaches. A few metres from many of the gardening sites you can find coral nurseries on steel mesh frames, anchored where the water movement and absence of predators promotes rapid coral growth.Branch coral, which grows in long delicate arms, is best suited to the process. No one suggests that coral gardening can preserve the biodiversity of the reef, though it may help researchers come to understand which corals will better survive the coming heat.
Professor Hughes describes “coral gardening” efforts as a distraction from the real work needed to save the reef.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Boy bitten by two-metre shark while snorkelling in Western AustraliaA young boy has been bitten by a two-metre-long shark while snorkelling near Coral Bay in remote Western Australia.
Read more »
Chinese researchers find batch of new coronaviruses in batsChinese researchers have said they had found a batch of new coronaviruses in bats including one that may be the second-closest yet, genetically, to the COVID-19 virus. 9News
Read more »
New photos show Chinese rover's exploration of MarsThe dusty, rocky Martian surface and a Chinese rover and lander bearing small national flags were seen in photos released overnight that the rover took on the red planet. 9News
Read more »
Chris Minns pins election hopes on new and diverse faces joining Labor's frontbenchWith his eyes set on the 2023 state election, new Labor leader Chris Minns unveils a team made up of mostly women and five newcomers, which he says reflects NSW and will be welcomed by hardened government voters as a competitor.
Read more »
‘It’s serious, this bloody Alzheimer’s’: lunch with Aussie legend John FlausHe may not be a household name, but John Flaus is certainly a household voice, and face, after decades of acting and voiceover work. | karlkwin
Read more »