Reef Rescue

Sunrise Rotary Citizen Scientists are at it again! Members of the Rotary Club of Vero Beach Sunrise involved with ORCA’s Pollution Mapping project collect sampl...es and analyze them at ORCA’s Center for Citizen Science in Vero Beach. Are you interested in getting involved with this project? Learn more here: https://www.teamorca.org/pollution-mapping.html #PollutionMapping #CitizenScience #IndianRiverLagoon #VeroBeach

Some good news for Caribbean reefs: "A University of North Carolina at Wilmington laboratory made history this month by spawning in captivity an endangered cora...l that once thrived in shallow reefs in the Caribbean." "Researchers at the university’s Center for Marine Science are the first to spawn two species of coral, including Orbicella faveolata, also known as mountainous star coral, in a laboratory." Side note: The coral Orbicella faveolata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) may be more recognizable to some under it's former name, Montastraea faveolata (Ellis & Solander, 1786). Orbicella faveolata

https://news.miami.edu//researchers-share-novel-ways-to-re

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH ANNOUNCEMENT Documented for the first time on Florida’s Coral Reef OR in the Caribbean, multiple colonies of mountainous star coral, restor...ed by Mote onto Florida's Coral Reef, have spawned, which is a breakthrough for coral restoration! Over the past few nights, Mote coral scientists observed restored colonies of mountainous star coral (Orbicella faveolata) on a reef near Cook Island, hoping to capture the brief moment during the evening where the coral release their gametes (eggs and sperm) into the water column, a process known as spawning. On Aug. 9, to the delight of Mote scientists, a coral colony released its gametes in an extraordinary display. On Aug. 10, five more colonies spawned! This is the first time that restored massive corals have been documented to spawn on Florida’s Coral Reef! mote.org/coralmilestone #motemarinelab #protectourreefs Protect Our Reefs

We need a few more volunteers to collect water samples in Northern Palm Beach. If you’d like to help collect one Monday per month please let Aaron Barnes know! The Surfrider Bluewater Task Force and our community would appreciate your help!