LISTEN: Can Crossbreeding Save the Coral Reef?

APOLLO BEACH -- Crossbreeding helped the Florida panther stave off extinction. Could a similar conservation technique save Florida's coral reef?

The University of Miami and Tampa's Florida Aquarium have brought more than a dozen elkhorn coral fragments to the U.S. from Tela Bay in the waters off Honduras. The Honduran corals seem to tolerate warmer waters well. The plan is to take the fragments to UM's and Florida Aquarium's coral nurseries, the Coral Reef Futures Lab in Miami and the Aquarium's hatchery in Apollo Beach, near Tampa. Scientists will set up the nurseries to replicate the sunrise, sunset, moon cycles and seasonal temperature changes in the Keys. The hope is that the coral fragments from both Honduras and Florida will spawn on the same day, allowing for cross-fertilization.

The next step is to eventually place the coral offspring on the reef. But state and federal approval is required.

A similar attempt in 2019 successfully cross-bred Florida coral with Curacao coral. But the genetic differences were too great and the offspring weren't compatible with the existing population.

Listen to an interview with Keri O'Neil, the project director at the Florida Aquarium, below.

Photo: Canva