10/10/2025
Controlled out-of-season spawning of reef-forming corals using offset environmental cues. Coral reefs are hotspots of biodiversity with immense socio-economic value yet face increasing pressures globally owing to climate change and localized impacts from coastal urbanization. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, up to 99% of reefs may be degraded by 2100 even under optimistic climate scenarios. The global climate crisis has heightened the urgency for developing interventions to enhance resilience and recovery of coral reef ecosystems. Coral spawning typically occurs once a year during summer, limiting the availability of coral larvae for research and reef restoration purposes. In this study, researchers successfully triggered spawning of multiple Great Barrier Reef coral species months ahead of their natural timing by replicating seasonal environmental cues (temperature, daylight, and moonlight) in controlled aquarium conditions. This 'out-of-season' spawning approach enables year-round access to coral juveniles, removing key constraints on experiments, selective breeding programs, and coral reef restoration efforts. Importantly, the timing, synchrony, and quality of coral spawning matched natural benchmarks, opening new possibilities for accelerating coral conservation under climate change.
Read the article in Proceedings B:
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2025.1558
