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Exciting news from the Academy's Coral Regeneration Lab (CoRL)! On April 22, 2020, Acropora hyacinthus corals collected from the reefs of Palau released eggs and sperm that mixed in a fascinating reproduction display.

In this video, Academy curator Rebecca Albright, PhD, who runs one of the world’s only indoor coral culturing labs, talks viewers through the spawning and explains how her team uses lights, temperature, and more to simulate seasons and lunar conditions in Palau. Dr. Albright’s team works tirelessly to keep these corals healthy so they can reproduce year after year and provide critical insight about the future of threatened coral reefs.

About Hope for Reefs

Underwater photo of Dr. Rebecca Albright collecting a coral specimen

Hope for Reefs is a global initiative launched by the California Academy of Sciences in 2016 to research and restore critical coral reef systems. Its key aims are to make fundamental breakthroughs in coral reef biology, develop new conservation solutions and restoration techniques, and share what we know through innovative exhibits and educational media programs.

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