On the evening of August 6th, 2020, CRF™ divers witnessed the youngest nursery-raised and outplanted staghorn corals to spawn in the wild
Outplanted staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) spawning on Florida's Coral Reef. Video copyright: Dana Williams/University of Miami. Video depicts 5-year old staghorn outplants spawning on the night of August 4th at North Dry Rocks and is included here for illustration only. Will update media as it comes in.
Coral Restoration Foundation™ divers witnessed 14-month old staghorn corals propagated and outplanted by CRF™ spawning on Florida's Coral Reef.
These are the youngest CRF™ nursery-raised, outplanted staghorn corals to be observed spawning in the wild, and possibly the youngest outplanted staghorn to be observed spawning ever in the Florida Keys.
The CRF™ team has aso been observing these same genotypes spawning in the nursery, and we will present the data once it comes in.
Spawning was also observed in outplanted elkhorn corals - a first for Florida Keys restoration efforts. Read more about this story here.
Fourteen-month-old staghorn outplants spawning at North Dry Rocks. Images: Jessica Levy/Coral Restoration Foundation™