Coral guts and sex

Coral reefs are built from millions of tiny inter-connected coral polyps. David's group explored the bacterial and chemical microenvironments inside single polyps, finding similarities to the guts of higher animals. This knowledge may help microbiome manipulation efforts to boost coral health in a changing climate.

Research into coral reproduction is crucial to support active reef intervention efforts. Annual mass coral spawning provides limited access to gametes. Lonidas' group successfully induced out-of-season spawning for six Great Barrier Reef coral species during winter 2022 & 2023, generating 1.9 million larvae. This can accelerate investigations into coral reproductive biology and underpin restoration efforts.