Through a joint effort by Nova Southeastern University (NSU) and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), about 300 corals from NSU’s coral nursery will be transferred to the Texas State Aquarium for research and restoration. This effort will be one of the largest out-of-state coral transfers by NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences.
The coral transfer will take place at NSU’s Oceanographic Campus on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
NSU Research Associate Shane Wever will be coordinating the transfer with TAMU-CC researcher Keisha Bahr, the chair for Coral Reef and Ocean Health at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at TAMU-CC, off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Wever and his crew will organize, prepare, and pack the corals for the trip.
“This coral transfer is an opportunity for NSU to share Florida corals with TAMU-CC for research as well as creating a cache of genetically unique staghorn coral fragment representing multiple regions across southeast Florida,” he said. “This transfer acts as another layer of defense to safeguard Florida’s staghorn coral populations from climate change.”
Kyle Pisano, NSU’s onshore coral nursery manager, and Morgan Heightshoe, NSU’s offshore nursery manager, will be helping Wever with the project. NSU Professors Dave Gilliam and Abby Renegar are the principal investigators for the labs that are involved.
Corals are delicate creatures, which is why NSU and TAMU-CC are taking extreme caution with this coral transfer. Each coral will be packaged with fresh clean sea water, extra oxygen, inside of a protective case, inside of insulated and padded coolers and will be in transport for the shortest time possible to ensure healthy corals all the way through the transfer. The corals will be transferred via van from NSU to a nearby private airport and flown to Texas.
NSU’s Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center in Dania Beach, Fla., is the home to cutting-edge marine science research in South Florida. Among its assets, the center serves as a coral reef nursery and research facility, where rescued corals are stored, processed for restoration and transplanted back into the ocean. NSU researchers have transferred corals to universities such as the University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University, and Texas State University, as well as the Coral Restoration Foundation in the Florida Keys.
Abnormally high ocean temperatures caused widespread coral bleaching in 2023, wiping out corals in the Florida Keys. TAMU-CC turned to NSU when its partners in the Keys were no longer able to provide corals for its research. Fortunately, Broward County was spared from the majority of the 2023 bleaching and the NSU offshore coral nursery run by NSU’s Coral Reef Restoration Assessment and Monitoring (CRRAM) lab had a healthy stock of corals to donate.
TAMU-CC is using some of these corals in a turbidity experiment to study the effects of sediment from Port Everglades on coral health. The rest of these corals will either help TAMU-CC with its work creating a bleaching guide for the Caribbean or act as a genetic bank, representing nearly 100 genetically distinct Staghorn coral colonies from across southeast Florida’s reefs.
Staghorn is a vital species of coral to Florida’s reefs and has seen more than 90% of its population wiped out over the past 50 years. Storing the genetic information of these corals with TAMU-CC and Texas State Aquarium is another layer of defense to safeguard Florida’s staghorn coral populations from climate change.
Coral reefs are integral to the blue economy. They are home to a quarter of all marine life, including more than 4,000 fish species. They protect coastlines from storms, waves, and floods, which can help prevent loss of life and property damage. They also are a source of food for more than half a billion people and provide jobs and income for local communities through tourism and recreation.
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