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Coral reefs around the world are suffering due to increasing temperatures and acidity. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the reefs that is suffering.
Researchers are working hard to find ways to stop the decline. One project has developed an underwater robot that is designed to help coral reefs recover.
The robot, LarvalBot, is only the size of a briefcase but it may have a big impact on struggling coral reefs. The robot is meant to deliver microscopic larvae to the reef in large quantities.
Peter Harrison, the director of the Marine Ecology Research Center at South Cross University, had this to say about the technology, “the reduced number of corals means we’ve lost the ability for coral to provide enough larvae to settle and restore these communities quickly. The idea here is to use an automated technique that allows us to target delivery of the larvae into damaged reef systems and increase the efficiency that new coral communities can be generated. “
The team is working with the robot on the northern portion of the Great Barrier Reef. The larvae being delivered are species that seem to be especially tolerant of warmer ocean temperatures. Hopefully this effort can help corals around the world recover quickly.
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