Corals bred in a zoo have joined Europe’s largest reef. This is offering scientists hope

By MOLLY QUELL
Associated Press

ARNHEM, Netherlands (AP) — A lab in a Dutch zoo has presented special corals that bred themselves and nestled them in Europe’s largest coral reef. The corals are part of a project by the World Coral Conservatory. The project aims to create a bank of corals in aquariums across Europe. They could eventually be used to repopulate wild coral reefs that are succumbing to the stress of climate change or pollution. The scientists took more than a dozen coral fragments from off the coast of Seychelles in East Africa, and then propagated them in a lab. Once they were large enough, they were brought to join the rest of the reef.