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Sunlight filtering through deep ocean water onto a living coral reef colony
EST. 2014 · 47 ACTIVE REEFS
01 / 04 — MISSION

Reviving the ocean's lungs, one polyp at a time.

Anthozoa is a marine-science nonprofit cultivating Acropora cervicornis, Diploria labyrinthiformis, and seven other reef-building species across the Caribbean, Indo-Pacific and Red Sea.

Dive in Watch the 4-minute film

A reef is a city. We rebuild it one polyp, one fragment, one tagged colony at a time — across forty-seven sites in three oceans.

FIELD LAB · METHOD 03

Assisted gene flow at coral scale.

Heat-tolerant A. palmata genotypes from Curaçao crossed with Floridian stock, then outplanted in clusters of seven to eleven.

SPECIES IN NURSERY9 FIELD STATIONS4 RESEARCHERS41 SUBSTRATESCERAMIC
428,910
Corals outplanted
47
Restoration sites
93%
Survivorship rate
9
Species in nursery
↓ Descend · 04 panels
01 · The CrisisBleaching
Bleached coral reef Healthy coral reef
1998 · alive2024 · bleached
50% gone
since '50

A reef dies in stages — not in a single breath.

When ocean temperatures rise just 1°C above the seasonal maximum, corals expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues. Stripped of color, stripped of food.

The genus Acropora — once 80% of Caribbean reef cover — is now functionally extinct in 7 of 12 monitored zones. Orbicella faveolata follows close behind.

0%
Global cover lost '09–'18
+1.5°C
Bleaching threshold
0
IPCC tipping point
02 · The Science

A tide pool of methods, clustered like life itself.

Seven interlocking disciplines, from genomics to acoustic monitoring, coordinated by a 41-person research team across four field stations.

METHOD 01

Micro-fragmenting

Brain corals like Diploria labyrinthiformis grow 25–40× faster when cut into 1cm² polyp clusters. We replate them across ceramic substrates.

FRAGMENT SIZE1 cm² GROWTH BOOST25–40× SUBSTRATECERAMIC TILE
01
METHOD 02

Larval propagation

Wild spawn collected on annual moon-cycle, raised in mesocosms, then settled onto recruitment substrates in the lab before re-release.

SPAWN WINDOWFULL-MOON, AUG LARVAL DENSITY1.2/cm² SETTLEMENTCRUSTOSE TILE
02
METHOD 03

Assisted gene flow

Crossing heat-tolerant A. palmata genotypes from Curaçao with Floridian stock — pre-adapting reefs to bleaching thresholds expected by 2050.

SOURCE STOCKCURAÇAO RECIPIENTFLORIDA KEYS THERMAL DELTA+1.8°C TOL.
03
METHOD 04

Acoustic enrichment

Underwater speakers broadcast the soundscape of a healthy reef — clicks, snaps, chorus. Recruitment rates of juvenile fish double within 40 days.

SPEAKER ARRAY6 × OMNIDIRECTIONAL RECRUITMENT+200% / 40 D FREQ. RANGE200 Hz – 18 kHz
04
0
Species in trial
2.4cm
Avg. monthly growth
0
Researchers afield
03 · The Program

We descend in three movements.

CURRENT DEPTH 0M
SURFACE
0–3m · Surface

Nursery

Mid-water tree nurseries shelter fragments from sediment and predators. Each tree holds 100 corals; a station hosts 60 trees.

Mid-water coral nursery tree
3–12m · Reef crest

Outplanting

Mature colonies are epoxied onto cleaned reef substrate in clusters of 7–11. Acropora cervicornis achieves self-fusion in 14 weeks.

Diver outplanting coral fragments on reef substrate
12–28m · Forereef

Monitoring

Annual 3D photogrammetry tracks rugosity and growth across 1,400 tagged colonies. eDNA samples reveal fish recolonization.

Researcher documenting reef with camera rig
04 · Active Sites

47 reefs. Three oceans. One coordinated pulse.

Active Monitoring Planned
Florida KeysA. cervicornis82,440 PLANTED
Raja AmpatPorites lobata61,002 PLANTED
Caribbean
Florida Keys
Acropora cervicornis
24.66°N · 81.37°W
0
corals outplanted
Coral Triangle
Raja Ampat
Porites lobata
0.50°S · 130.50°E
0
corals outplanted
Red Sea
Gulf of Aqaba
Stylophora pistillata
29.55°N · 34.95°E
0
corals outplanted
Pacific
Moorea Lagoon
Pocillopora damicornis
17.53°S · 149.83°W
0
corals outplanted