Recordings of healthy fish are being transmitted to attract heat-tolerant larvae back to degraded reefs in the Maldives

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Donna Ferguson

Sat 20 Apr 2024 06.00 EDT

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An underwater experiment to restore coral reefs using a combination of “coral IVF” and recordings of fish noises could offer a “beacon of hope” to scientists who fear the fragile ecosystem is on the brink of collapse.

The experiment – a global collaboration between two teams of scientists who developed their innovative coral-saving techniques independently – has the potential to significantly increase the likelihood that coral will repopulate degraded reefs, they claim.

The first use of the combined techniques, to repair damaged atolls in the Maldives, will be shown on the BBC One TV series Our Changing Planet, co-presented by the naturalist Steve Backshall. Hailed as a potential “gamechanger”, the hope is that the technique could be replicated on a large scale to help preserve and revitalise dying reefs.

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