Workshop studies coral decline

Though sexual coral reproduction seems terribly esoteric, the SECORE (SExual COral REproduction) Project examines the importance of understanding reproduction in workshops currently being held in Puerto Rico:

In the last few years field populations of Elkhorn coral (Acropora plamata, pictured above) have declined over 90%. The reason why this reef-building coral is going down is not completely understood. Scientists have observed that the Elkhorn coral is still actively spawning in the Caribbean, but recruitment of newly-settled larvae has been hardly observed in nature. The participants of the SECORE workshop will use coral recruits to establish a living stock collection of the Elkhorn coral in their facilities. The captive corals can be used for multiple purposes, such as scientific research and public outreach with respect to conservation issues of coral reefs.

The projects hosts a Web site and blog for the workshops.

Photo: (c) Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank