Scientists have transferred nearly 300 marine corals from South Florida to the Texas Gulf Coast for research and restoration.
Researchers from Nova Southeastern Universities [NSU] and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi moved the corals Wednesday to the former’s facility in Dania Beach, from where they were transported to a nearby airport and taken to the State of Texas.
were taken extreme care in transportationsaid NSU researcher Shane Wever.
NSU’s marine life research facility serves as a nursery for corals, where they are found. stored, treated for recovery and returned to the ocean.
NSU has shared corals with other universities, including Miami, Florida Atlantic and Texas State, as well as the Coral Restoration Foundation.
Despite the importance of corals, it’s easy for people living on land to forget the importance of things in the oceans.said researcher Keisha Bahr of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.
“Corals serve a lot of different purposes,” Bahr said. “First, protect our coastline, particularly here in Florida, from wave energy and coastal erosionThey also provide us with much of the food we get from the oceans. And They are the cradle of a large number of organisms.”specific.
Extremely high ocean temperatures caused widespread coral bleaching in 2023, destroying corals in the Florida Keysthe archipelago of tropical islands south of the State.
Texas A&M – Corpus Christi researchers turned to NSU when their partners in the Keys could no longer provide corals for their research.
Broward County was spared most of the bleaching that occurred in 2023, making the offshore birthplace of NSU has healthy corals to make available.
“We are losing corals at an alarming rate”said Bahr. “We have lost about half of our corals in the last three decades. We need to make sure we continue to have these ‘girls’ in the future.”.
Source: Observadora
