[youtube width=”680″ height=”420″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X3uCnEN7lE&t=12s[/youtube]
We wrote in August about Coral Morphologic’s Colin Foord speaking at the prestigious TEDxMiami and we are happy to share with you his informative presentation is now available online. Foord’s unique presentation dives into finding thriving coral colonies within the city limits of Miami. Not just any coral — “delicate” Acropora coral.
We learned before these colonies of Acropora appear to be Acropora x ‘prolifera’, what is really a naturally occuring hybrid of the elkhorn and staghorn coral species. As Foord points out in his presentation, “so why should we care about some hybrid, mongrel coral living in one of the businest waterways in the country?” As he points out, this is a unique “super coral” and where it is growing and how it’s doing, makes it worth a closer look.
We can’t agree more and the mere fact that corals are adapting to harsh conditions may give us some insight into how some coral species survive or overcome harsh conditions. There is plenty of great research studying these particular corals can yield for both understanding our natural reefs and as hobbyists, some mysteries why certain corals thrive in our home systems while others may fail.
Great job Colin and thanks to the TEDxMiami team for posting the video. TEDxMiami and other local TEDx events are independently organized TED events bringing the quality presentations to the local audience.
