DANIA BEACH, FLA. – Thanks to a four-year, $16 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded to researchers at the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science; Nova Southeastern University (NSU); and nine other South Florida entities will be partnering on a program to develop and scale up new approaches to increase the climate resilience of Florida’s restored coral reefs.
The collaborative effort is designed to translate new research into transformative restoration action and will unite UM, NSU, Mote Marine Laboratory, The Florida Aquarium, Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, Smithsonian Marine Station, The Reef Institute, Reef Renewal USA, SECORE International, Biscayne National Park, and AECOM– to form a network that shares new knowledge, resources, and best practices to maximize the ability of newly restored corals to survive climate change impacts.
“Florida’s Coral Reef is facing one of its greatest challenges yet, and our team is committed to pioneering new approaches to ensure its survival,” said Andrew Baker, the lead of the project and a professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology and director of the Coral Reef Futures Lab at the Rosenstiel School. “With NOAA’s support, we plan to implement groundbreaking approaches that incorporate newly emerging science into restoration efforts designed to enhance coral resilience to increasingly warm oceans.”
In response to the unprecedented marine heatwave of 2023, which resulted in record levels of coral bleaching across Florida’s Coral Reef, the team aims to scale up new coral restoration practices to enhance the resilience of these vital marine ecosystems. The project will take place across multiple sites in South Florida, including in Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties.
NSU’s participants in the effort will feature research program director Brian K. Walker, coral researcher D. Abigail Renegar, and Associate Professor David Gilliam.
“This grant will fuel the ongoing efforts of researchers at NSU’s Oceanographic Campus, where we manage onshore and offshore coral nurseries, rehabilitate and replant damaged corals, and spawn new corals for eventual transplantation,” said Dean Holly Baumgartner of NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. “We look forward to expanding our collaborations and developing novel approaches to bolster coral resilience.”
The project integrates interventions aimed at increasing heat tolerance in corals, including selective breeding of corals that survived the 2023 bleaching event, the cross breeding of Florida’s endangered elkhorn corals with resilient elkhorns from outside Florida, the conditioning of baby corals to warmer temperatures and their provisioning with heat-adapted algae that help them resist bleaching and the use of beneficial probiotics to help corals deal with heat stress. By focusing on breeding resilient populations, the project will significantly boost the number of climate-resilient corals introduced into the reef ecosystem each year.
For several years, NSU has studied the coral reefs of Southeast Florida, as they are facing devastating losses from the combination of climate change, disease, poor water quality, and other factors. These critical ecosystems support valuable commercial and recreational fishing as well as Florida’s tourism industry. According to NOAA, coral reefs in Southeast Florida generate $2 billion in annual revenues and support 70,400 jobs. In addition, Southeast Florida’s reefs play an important role in protecting people and property from the effects of hurricanes, such as flooding and storm surge, along the highly urbanized coastlines of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
“NSU has been a longtime leader in coral restoration in this particular area of Florida’s Coral Reef,” Walker said. “Dr. Gilliam has optimized his efforts in raising staghorn corals and is a critical part of the gene banking and coral exchanges the group has planned to increase genetic diversity across the reef.
“NSU’s GIS [Geographic Information Systems] and Spatial Ecology lab’s unique role is to use the best available science to aid in siting restoration activities for all partners and to evaluate success and failures to inform an adaptive restoration strategy.”
The initiative will develop and leverage innovative technology from previous research, such as new cement materials, hydrogels, and anti-algal coatings to improve coral recruit survivorship and overall restoration efficacy.
In addition to ecological restoration, the project will prioritize outreach and training, emphasizing the long-term commitment required for successful coral recovery. Through bilingual community engagement programs at the Frost Science Museum and citizen science initiatives across seven counties, the project aims to foster ocean stewardship and build public support for sustainable coral restoration practices.
Coral reef restoration is one of many NSU commitments to the preservation, regeneration and the sustainability of the blue economy. NSU’s efforts not only benefit the health of the marine environment, but also create fertile grounds for the prosperity of industries such as tourism, housing, recreational and commercial fishing, property values, and cargo transportation.
