The marine science team for the Butler Bay Coral Restoration Project will host an up-close marine science experience at a free open house event at the project’s pop-up coral laboratory at the Feather Leaf Inn on Mother’s Day, this Sunday from 1-3 p.m.
Visitors will be able to view baby coral polyps through the microscope and tour the laboratory with the marine science team, who will demonstrate the equipment and methods used to collect and fertilize the gametes (eggs and sperm) from adult grooved brain corals – one of the species targeted for restoration in the project, according to the press release.
Corina Marks, the lead scientist for the territory’s Butler Bay Coral Restoration Area, likens the process of propagating corals to gardening on land, the press release stated.
“Rearing corals from this early stage is a bit like growing plants from seed. It’s very exciting to see them go from microscopic to visible animals, and like seedlings, they also need some time in a protected nursery environment until they are big enough to plant back onto the reef,” Marks said.
Other types of corals can be grown from cuttings (or “fragments,” in coral-speak) in the same way plants can be cloned from cuttings. Fast-growing elkhorn coral, for example, can be propagated by planting fragments from the same parent directly onto the reef. Within a few months, the fragments will fuse to the reef to create a new colony. Nearly 800 such colonies have been planted in Butler Bay since the launch of the project a little over a year ago, the release stated.
The open house will also feature a talk by Ashlee Lillis, the coral larval ecologist who oversees spawning operations for the Butler Bay project and similar projects worldwide. In the coming months, Dr. Lillis will oversee a census of last year’s crop of grooved brain corals currently incubating in the nursery in Butler Bay and develop a schedule to outplant the survivors. She will also show visitors examples of the many microscopic animals that make up St Croix reefs, it said.
Attendees who want to make it a day out can also register for a special Sunday brunch at the Feather Leaf Inn before the event. To register for this free event or purchase brunch tickets, please visit https://linktr.ee/featherleafinn or www.featherleafinn.com.
The coral lab is also offering private tours for groups of 4-10 between Tuesday and Thursday, May 14-16. Please email ashlee@soundoceanscience.com to schedule a tour.
The Butler Bay Coral Restoration Project is a collaboration between Ceiba Strategies LLC, Thriving Islands LLC, and the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources.
