Project Outcomes Press conference: Increasing coral reef resilience with assisted evolution via selective restoration

The Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) and project partner, Dr John Bruno, University of North Carolina, have completed a two-year coral restoration grant supported by RESEMBID investigating how Acropora corals with different genetic makeup (genotypes) respond to climate change-related stress. CCMI’s Director of Research, Dr Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley, shared project outcomes at this online press conference, including which coral genotypes displayed higher levels of resilience to threats and what this means for coral restoration in the face of climate change.

Press conference date: Thursday, 18 January 2024

CCMI has also developed these findings into a coral restoration handbook to support managers and practitioners locally and internationally with incorporating resilience principles into their restoration efforts. For more information about this project and to download the restoration handbook (available in English, French, Spanish, and Dutch), visit the project page HERE.

This restoration work is supported by RESEMBID, funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France (the development cooperation agency of the Government of France), which supports sustainable human development efforts in 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs).

This press conference was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

CCMI’s coral restoration work is sponsored by Dart Cayman Islands, the Disney Conservation Fund, Consolidated Water, the Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust, The AALL Foundation Trust, and Stuarts Humphries.

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