South Florida scientists look to breeding corals to help save reefs
MIAMI - South Florida scientists took corals from Honduras intending to breed them with Floridian corals so that they can reproduce.
"The structure that they make performs a really valuable function for us here in Florida, in protecting our coastlines from the damaging effects of storms," said Andrew Baker, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami.
The heat last summer caused the corals to bleach, which essentially is a near-death situation.
"Florida's iconic elkhorn corals, last summer, with many of them dying out, there's a real need to try and prevent the extinction of that species."
The breeding process has been a tricky thing to do, but Baker said they already have offspring.
"We keep some here at the Florida aquarium. The ones there spawned a few weeks ago."
Eventually, they'll be out in the ocean where they will hopefully help rebuild what was wiped out.
"We hope early next year, we'll begin planting out very small babies and have the necessary permissions to do that. This is a big step for Florida to take populations for corals outside of Florida."