Hundreds of rare coral samples from Florida find a new home in Corpus Christi

After a plane ride across the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas, followed by a “coral ambulance” ride from the airport to the Texas State Aquarium, more than 300 coral samples are now in the hands of researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Dubbed “Operation Coral Rescue,” the project is a partnership between TAMU-CC and Nova Southeastern University in Florida that aims to preserve coral samples threatened by rising temperatures – as well as studying how the species can adapt to changing environmental conditions

According to Keisha Bahr, chair for coral reef and ocean health at TAMU-CC’s Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, the project came about rather unexpectedly.

“It originally started out with trying to acquire some corals for an experiment where we were trying to investigate how sediment might be impacting corals,” Bahr said. “When we originally reached out to Nova Southeastern, they were like, ‘Actually, we have some corals that are really unique in terms of their genetic makeup, and we’re experiencing this warming right now. They’re endangered corals. We were wondering if you could take some of those corals as well.’”

More than 300 coral samples were relocated to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Benjamin Zaragossa / Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Warming ocean temperatures can cause coral to “bleach,” or lose the symbiotic algae and microorganisms that give corals their colors. A bleaching event in 2023 caused widespread loss of corals in the Florida Keys. NSU offered Bahr and her colleagues coral samples, including several rare and endangered species, to help further their research as well as create a repository for the threatened corals.

“This Operation Coral Rescue actually happened at a really great time where the water is starting to warm up and get really, really hot,” she said. “We were able to go get some of these really threatened corals to take them from these hot waters, bring them to Texas. And we now have them in an environment where they are going to be safe.

“And we have this genetic repository of these species, so that if something happens to that native population, we were able to have that genetic replication of those individuals here in Texas.”

» GET MORE NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE: Sign up for Texas Standard’s weekly newsletters

Transporting the fragile samples – most just a couple of inches big – was no small feat. Bahr’s team had to move quickly and maintain stable water temperatures for the coral fragments, which were packaged in plastic takeout containers filled with carefully crafted artificial seawater. Cooling packs were used to keep the dishes at stable temperatures. Then the precious cargo was loaded on an airplane and flown from Florida to Corpus Christi.

“I essentially was hugging them the whole time, asking their temperatures, you know, just like, my little coral babies,” Bahr said. “We flew back over, three hours from Fort Lauderdale here to Corpus Christi, got picked up in essentially a coral ambulance from the Texas State Aquarium and transported to the rescue center, where they are now being temporarily housed until our coral facility is built here at the Harte Research Institute, where they will then live.”

Coral are loaded up for transport to the Texas State Aquarium after arriving from Florida by plane.
Benjamin Zaragossa / Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Bahr said the threats to corals are ongoing as sea temperatures rise and coastal development encroaches on native corals’ habitats. She encourages people to learn more about ocean habitats and to take steps to reduce their own impact on the environment.

“The best way to get involved and help corals is to educate yourself. You can learn more about the work that we’re doing here in Texas by visiting the Harte Research Institute,” Bahr said. “Of course, you can educate yourself about the impact that you have on coral reefs and reduce your carbon footprint. That is always really important because we have shown that corals can adapt and acclimate to the amount of warming that’s occurring.

“But the problem right now is it’s happening too fast, that the corals cannot keep up. So if we can slow the rate of warming that is happening, corals will be able to keep up.”

If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it here. Your gift helps pay for everything you find on texasstandard.org and KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.