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
January 31, 2025
Tunicates
Although tunicates may at first glance appear to be related to sponges or sea anemones, they’re actually in the same phylum as humans and other vertebrates – Chordata. In their larval form, tunicates look like tadpoles, with a notochord and nerve chord (which become the spine and spinal cord in vertebrates).
Photo Credit: Ken Marks
