30 November: Timing is everything - SeaSim readies itself for the GBR's 2015 coral spawning event
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Coral breeding is one of the SeaSim's core capabilities and a source of much anticipated excitement during Australia’s spring.
The National Sea Simulator (SeaSim) team at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has been working hard over the past couple of months painstakingly preparing for the annual coral spawning event on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). With the latest innovative technology on hand, SeaSim’s diverse team of engineers, plumbers, electricians and aquarists, in conjunction with staff scientists, have worked together to create the ultimate coral spawning and larval rearing aquarium infrastructure capable of simulating natural spawning conditions.
The harvested larvae provide a ready stock for scientists to use in experiments on the night of the mass spawning and over subsequent months.
“This year we’re hoping to spawn over 100 different colonies from 12 different species of coral in the SeaSim producing in excess of five million larvae,” said SeaSim Operations Manager Craig Humphrey.
The SeaSim supports some of the world’s most innovative research projects. Scientists from AIMS, James Cook University, Melbourne University, University of Western Australia and University of Texas, amongst others, will undertake a number of significant projects in the coming months, greatly facilitated through the SeaSim’s advanced experimental capacity to support spawning, rearing of corals and a variety of experiments. Learn more about this research and the unique SeaSim facilities here.
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