With World’s Coral Reefs Under Threat, Researchers Attain Success In Reproducing Highly Endangered Species In Lab

In a boost to coral reef conservation efforts, researchers at the Florida Aquarium's Centre for Conservation have successfully reproduced a highly endangered species of Atlantic Pillar corals, Tribune reports.

"This amazing breakthrough was the first time that we spawned Atlantic corals in a laboratory setting that we've had for over a year in our greenhouses," Amber Whittle, the aquarium's director for conservation said.

The centre succeeded in the efforts by mimicking the species’ ideal habitat complete with sunrises, sunsets and moon phases which helped achieved spawning. The breakthrough by researchers will help efforts to save ‘America's Great Barrier Reef’ off the coast of Florida.

Coral reefs consisting of generations of coral polyps are highly susceptible to climate change and are have been rapidly disappearing from seas across the world. Corals can tolerate a very small bracket of temperature and other factors like salinity and depth but provide a refuge to thousands of other species in the sea.