Fact Friday
Scientists are trying to mitigate the decline of corals. One way to do this is to grow and “plant” them. Coral ecologists grow corals in nurseries created either on land or in the ocean. As with most plants, you can break a leaf off and grow it into a whole new plant. The same process can be used to grow coral. When a piece of a coral is broken off, it can be regrown into another coral, and when they are large enough, they are transplanted from the nursery to the coral reef.
Photo Credit: James Byrne
February 28, 2025
Banded Sea Krait
Do you know that the banded sea krait contains a neurotoxin in its venom that’s one of the most lethal in the world? Sea snakes spend most of their time in the water. Sea kraits are not true sea snakes because they spend a lot of time on land digesting food and nesting. Sea kraits differ from their cousins on land because they have a paddle-like tail used for swimming. They hunt eels and other small fish that live in the coral reef, easily fitting into the reef’s crevices. They use their deadly neurotoxin to paralyze their victims before swallowing them whole.
Photo Credit: Ken Marks
