FAU awarded $1.2 million to advance coral reef restoration in Florida

Florida Atlantic University

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Coral fragments grow at the Reef Renewal USA nursery in Tavernier, Florida, where they are cultivated for eventual outplanting onto Florida’s coral reefs.

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Credit: Reef Renewal USA

Florida Atlantic University has received nearly $1.25 million in combined funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to advance coral reef restoration strategies designed to improve the survival and resilience of corals across Florida’s Coral Reef.

Despite major investments and hundreds of thousands of corals planted, restoration success remains unpredictable, with first-year mortality exceeding 90% for some species at certain sites. Researchers still lack the data to determine which coral genotypes are most likely to survive and thrive across different reef environments, a critical gap as ocean temperatures rise and bleaching intensifies.

The two grants, led by Steven Vollmer, Ph.D., professor and director of FAU’s School of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sustainability (ECOS), and Carsten Grupstra, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences, both within FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, will support complementary research to address these challenges. The EPA awarded $997,858 for a four-year study across nine reef sites in the Keys and Broward County, while FDEP awarded $244,962 to establish the first experimental coral gardens and complete the initial genomic and microbial characterization.

Together, the projects will test whether a coral’s genetic makeup, its microbial partners and the environmental conditions at a restoration site can predict how well it will perform after being transplanted to a reef. The goal is to move beyond simply producing and planting more corals toward a science-driven approach that identifies which corals to plant, where they are most likely to thrive and how restoration efforts can become more effective and cost-efficient.

“This research addresses one of the most consequential unanswered questions in coral restoration: How do we know which corals will actually survive and thrive once they are placed on the reef?,” said Vollmer. “We have invested tremendous resources in growing and outplanting corals, but we need to understand why some succeed while others fail. By connecting what we know about a coral’s genetics and heat tolerance with its performance in the ocean, we can develop a more targeted approach to restoration and give reef managers the evidence they need to make better decisions.”

The EPA-funded project, a four-year study running through 2030, will test 100 coral genotypes from five reef-building species at nine sites across the Upper Keys, Lower Keys and Broward County. Researchers will determine whether heat-tolerant corals identified during the 2023 bleaching event maintain their resilience across different reef environments, then replant the strongest performers in later years to test whether informed genotype selection measurably improves restoration outcomes.

The FDEP-funded project, a one-year effort launched in July, builds the experimental foundation the larger study depends on. It combines field monitoring with genomic sequencing and analyses of coral-associated algae and bacteria to identify traits linked to survival, growth, bleaching and disease, establishing the baseline against which long-term performance will be measured.

“Corals are much more than the animals we see on the reef,” said Grupstra. “Their performance is shaped by their own genetic makeup, the microorganisms they live with and the conditions they experience. By combining genomic sequencing, microbiome analysis and detailed field monitoring, we can begin to understand how these factors work together to influence resilience. That information can help identify promising coral genotypes and determine whether they are suited to particular reef environments.”

Researchers will track coral survival, growth, bleaching and disease, combining field observations with genomic and microbial analyses to identify traits linked to resilience. Findings will guide coral selection, nursery production and placement to improve restoration success.

FAU is partnering with Reef Renewal USA, which will provide nursery infrastructure, restoration expertise and field support, and the Broward County Resilience Office, which will use performance data to inform reef resilience planning, including efforts related to Port Everglades. The research also complements broader initiatives, including the Florida Coral Rescue and Restoration Initiative and NOAA’s Mission: Iconic Reefs program.

“This work demonstrates the value of bringing together environmental science, genomics, microbiology and field-based research to tackle a challenge that is critical to Florida’s future,” said Valery Forbes, Ph.D., dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “Florida’s Coral Reef is an essential natural resource, and improving its resilience requires more than increasing the number of corals we plant. The insights generated by our ECOS researchers and their partners will help identify more effective restoration strategies, supporting the long-term health of these ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.”

The research builds on work from the Vollmer and Grupstra laboratories examining the genetic basis of coral thermal tolerance and disease resistance, as well as the role of microbial communities in coral health. By connecting these areas of research with field-based restoration experiments, the team aims to produce findings that can be applied directly to reef management in Florida and potentially inform restoration efforts elsewhere.

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University is one of the nation’s fastest-rising public research universities, serving more than 32,000 students in South Florida. Ranked among the Top 100 Public Universities by U.S. News & World Report, Florida Atlantic is also one of only 13 institutions nationwide to hold Carnegie Foundation designations for R1 research, opportunity and community engagement. Guided by its strategic plan, “2031FAU: Where Tomorrow Begins,” the university is focused on delivering career-ready education and experiential learning, driving scholarly inquiry that creates healthier, safer and more prosperous communities, strengthening institutional excellence, and elevating its impact across South Florida and beyond. Florida Atlantic continues to advance its position as Florida’s first quantum university, integrating research, education and industry partnerships around next-generation computing technologies. Through other signature strengths in neuroscience and healthy aging, environmental, ocean and coastal innovation, and national defense and autonomous systems, Florida Atlantic expands knowledge, fuels economic opportunity and fulfills its mission as South Florida’s hometown university.

Recently outplanted corals grow on a Florida reef, with a great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) prominent in the foreground.

Coral fragments grow at the Reef Renewal USA nursery in Tavernier, Florida, where they are cultivated for eventual outplanting onto Florida’s coral reefs.

Coral fragments grow at the Reef Renewal USA nursery in Tavernier, Florida, where they are cultivated for eventual outplanting onto Florida’s coral reefs.

Credit

Reef Renewal USA