Coral Stewardship in the Caribbean

National Council member Joanie Kleypas has been working to protect and rebuild the Golfo Dulce coral reef through ongoing work with the Raising Coral Costa Rica research team. Using a “microfragmentation” process, the team has now grown over 1,500 coral pieces in their underwater nursery that have been transported back to their reef of origin to complete the restoration process. This work is critical in the face of climate change:

“Their findings are helping to restore local ecosystems, and could help researchers who hope to revive reefs in nearby countries. The species of the Golfo Dulce … may hold extraordinary clues about resilience to changing ocean conditions. Each day, the ocean’s tide ebbs and flows in the gulf, which raises and lowers the temperature, acidity, and salinity regularly. Because these reefs are exposed to constant fluctuations, researchers are curious whether they may be better suited to withstand changing ocean conditions than the corals that live in the ocean.”

Learn more about Joanie’s coral restoration work in this recent article.