Assisted gene flow using cryopreserved sperm in critically endangered coral.

Assisted gene flow (AGF) is a conservation intervention to accelerate species adaptation to climate change by importing genetic diversity into at-risk populations. Corals exemplify both the need for AGF and its technical challenges; corals have declined in abundance, suffered pervasive reproductive failures, and struggled to adapt to climate change, yet mature corals cannot be easily moved for breeding, and coral gametes lose viability within hours. Here, we report the successful demonstration of AGF in corals using cryopreserved sperm that was frozen for 2 to 10 y.

Growing coral larger and faster: micro-colony-fusion as a strategy for accelerating coral cover.

Fusion is an important life history strategy for clonal organisms to increase access to shared resources, to compete for space, and to recover from disturbance. For reef building corals, fragmentation and colony fusion are key components of resilience to disturbance. Observations of small fragments spreading tissue and fusing over artificial substrates prompted experiments aimed at further characterizing Atlantic and Pacific corals under various conditions.