TAMPA, Florida — Coral in the Florida Keys could not catch a break this summer as it faced severe bleaching and a highly deadly disease.
Biologists, like Jessica Sandelli, are currently trying to prevent the loss of even more coral by moving them out of the ocean and into on-land tanks.
Sandelli, who works with The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation Program, partnered with biologists from Sealife Orlando, Georgia Aquarium, Perry Institute for Marine Science and Butterfly Pavilion to settle the corals in their temporary home at the Keys Marine Laboratory.
“It is an incredible opportunity to collaborate with coral colleagues during such an important time in coral conservation, our collaborative work matters more now than it ever has,” Sandelli said.
Earlier this summer, scientists added 20 new coral colonies to its breeding program at its Apollo Beach campus amid coral conservation concerns.
The elkhorn coral, which traveled all the way from the Florida Keys, was taken by the team to address issues like coral bleaching.
The breeding problem, for the first time, attempted to produce more heat-tolerant elkhorn coral offspring. As record-breaking warm water temperatures continue impacting corals in the ocean, scientists relocated corals into climate-controlled land-based care centers or deeper and cooler ocean locations, the aquarium detailed in a statement.