New research findings: Understanding the sex life of coral gives hope of clawing it back from the path to extinction
For the first time, scientists have mapped the reproductive strategies and life cycle of an endangered coral species, offering hope it can be clawed back from the path to extinction.
The purple cauliflower soft coral, Dendronephthya australis, is endemic to South Eastern Australia, with the largest populations historically found in the Port Stephens estuary in New South Wales. It is one of the 100 priority species on the Federal Government's Threatened Species Strategy.
Not only is the future of the coral at stake—having experienced the complete loss of aggregations (clusters of colonies) in the estuary over the past three years and other locations of the NSW coast—it serves as vital habitat for other species, including the Endangered White's seahorse and baby snapper.
A study published in the journal Marine Biology today, titled "A glimmer of hope for an Endangered temperate soft coral: the first observations of reproductive strategies and early life cycle of Dendronephthya australis," has researchers excited that these discoveries may help pave the pathway towards securing a future for the species.
Lead researcher, Southern Cross University Ph.D. candidate Meryl Larkin, said the paper was a welcome turnaround from her earlier work, which showed how badly the species had been decimated by shifts in sediment and La Niña flood events.
The rare beauty of Purple Cauliflower Coral, Dendronephthya australis. Credit: Dr David Harasti