Around the world, coral reefs are under threat due to the combined effects of climate change, ocean acidification, and coastal development. These ecologically essential animals are notoriously delicate and typically reproduce just once per year, making it a major challenge to study their biology. At the Stowers Institute, scientists have accomplished an exciting feat in an unlikely location—successfully spawning and propagating tropical corals housed within aquariums. Stowers scientists are studying coral to gain a greater understanding of their developmental and evolutionary biology—and potentially devising strategies to save these ancient marine invertebrates.

“Many species of coral may not survive much longer, particularly in US territorial waters,” said Matt Gibson, Ph.D., Institute Investigator and Graduate School President. “Because of the critical role of coral reefs in marine ecosystems, this lends a certain urgency to studying their genetics and molecular biology, which may yield solutions for their conservation before it’s too late.”  

In the wild, coral spawning, the process of releasing reproductive cells, happens just once a year during summer nights around the full moon. Coral spawning in captivity is challenging because there are many environmental parameters that need to be replicated to “trick” the corals into releasing sperm and eggs at just the right time. Yet in November 2024, coral colonies sourced from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef spawned at the Institute, an achievement only a handful of labs worldwide have managed.

“It's not an easy endeavor to establish an indoor coral facility,” said Rachel Livella, a scientist on the Institute’s Aquatics team. “This process took several years—from gathering resources to the background work needed to build the facility, to setting up a system intended to mimic nature.” 

When the Gibson Lab, which has been researching coral’s cousin, the sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis, for over a decade, expanded to include coral, Stowers Postdoctoral Researcher Emma Rangel-Huerta, Ph.D., joined the lab.