The Larval Seedbox is an innovative coral restoration tool. It will help the Australian government meet its pledge of saving the Great Barrier Reef. CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, partnered with Southern Cross University to create this breakthrough technology. It’s intended to optimize coral larval survival, increase their dispersal potential and improve habitat settlement choices for baby corals.
The Larval Seedbox is intended as a straightforward, efficient, and low-cost solution outfitted to accelerate the deployment of coral restoration adaptations. Then we carefully deploy it on to the reef. This mechanism enables coral larvae to comfortably leave home when they’re prepared and float along with ocean currents, sometimes forking the distance of more than two city blocks. The technology is intended to be able to deploy up to 20 million larvae from multiple locations. This approach increases the likelihood of coral settlement in impacted regions.
Our inaugural Larval Seedbox trial was held at Lizard Island in early 2024. According to preliminary findings, an encouraging trend. Coral settlement rates are reportedly 56 times higher across thousands of square meters of reef! This first trial has been an overwhelming success. It has nonetheless opened the door to further testing, including a second trial that is ongoing in the Whitsundays.
Southern Cross University’s Professor Peter Harrison said the importance of these trials cannot be overstated.
“We’re deploying the seedboxes in the Whitsundays to target areas of reef that have been previously impacted by extreme weather events and coral bleaching from warming seas.” – Professor Peter Harrison
A Larval Seedbox, an invention aiding coral dispersal. In addition, its aluminum legs raise it 50 mm from the substrate. This cutting-edge design allows the rhodamine dye to diffuse laterally and vertically. In doing so, it provides crucial insights into how larvae migrate.
Dr Christopher Doropoulos, a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO, said that it was the delivery mechanism that made the seedboxes so effective.
“The seedboxes work as a delivery system, allowing coral larvae more time to disperse and settle on the Great Barrier Reef, where they can establish themselves and grow into juvenile corals.” – Dr. Christopher Doropoulos
Our team is still conducting research on the Larval Seedbox delivery. They hope to track its long-term impact in the coming nine to 12 months. This real-time evaluation will help reveal how far coral larvae can expect to disperse after they’ve been released. In doing so, it will test how successful this approach can be across various reef conditions.
Anna Marsden, Managing Director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, welcomed the move.
“This work is building new ways to help coral ecosystems adapt in a changing climate.” – Anna Marsden
The Larval Seedbox provides an exciting opportunity for researchers to explore new methods of enhancing coral populations and fostering resilience against climate change-induced challenges. Leading as these trials may be, scientists are excited. So far, their technology has already been making a significant positive impact on one of the world’s most threatened and important marine ecosystems.