Coral Spawning Night includes update on innovative coral research

Maui Ocean Center will host its annual Coral Spawning Night from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 26. Not only will guests have the chance to witness coral spawning, but they can also hear the latest updates on pioneering coral research currently underway off the coast of Maui.

The event will include a coral feeding station, live music and diver presentations. Inside the Sphere Theater, scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), based in Cape Cod, Mass., will discuss their research using sound as a tool to create healthy coral reefs.

WHOI researchers from the institution’s Reef Solutions Initiative conducted experiments last summer with five coral species at Maui Ocean Center’s coral nursery. This summer they have installed six buoys — five along Maui’s southern coast and one on the west side — that play the sounds of a healthy coral reef. The goal is to encourage coral larvae to settle and rebuild local reefs (in controlled settings, replaying the sounds of a thriving reef resulted in coral growth).

In addition to Maui Ocean Center, WHOI is partnering with the state’s Division of Aquatic Resources and NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary to conduct its research.

“Coral reefs are rapidly declining worldwide — including here in Hawaiʻi — because of warming water, acidification, coastal development and other stressors,” said Nadege Aoki, a WHOI marine biologist and one of the speakers at Coral Spawning Night. “We hope our research here on Maui will serve as a solution to help rebuild damaged reefs.”

During next week’s event, rice coral spawning stations will be setup throughout the aquarium. Coral spawning, or reproduction, coincides with the lunar cycle and Coral Spawning Night will be held during the new moon. While coral spawning is expected to occur, it’s not guaranteed due to environmental variables.

Maui Ocean Center exhibits one of the largest displays of living, rare and endemic Pacific corals in the world. In addition to coral-related speakers and activities, food and drinks will be available at Reef Café. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for keiki (ages 3 and younger are free along with aquarium members). Get tickets now at mauioceancenter.com.