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MOTE CORAL RESEARCH AND RESTORATION  coral fragments in nurseries in the wild using
                                                                Coral reef restoration is a priority of Mote’s world-  genetic strains that we believe most likely to survive
                                                                class research focused on the conservation and   changing ocean conditions.
                                                                sustainable use of our ocean’s natural resources. As   Our coral nurseries are restoring the reef ecosystem and
                                                                the southernmost marine laboratory in the continental  helping to rebuild a healthy and plentiful population of
                                                                U.S., Mote’s Tropical Research Laboratory, located in   wild corals that will be able to reproduce on their own.
                                                                Summerland Key, is uniquely positioned to support   RESULTS
                                                                the combined efforts of Florida and our nation for the   Over the last five years, our research and restoration
                                                                study and restoration of coral reef ecosystems.
                                                                                           programs have yielded amazing results:
                                                                FLORIDA’S NATURAL TREASURE
                                                                                           •  The rate of survival for corals we’ve restored to
                                                                Florida’s coral reef is the third largest on the planet   reefs exceeds 95%;
                                                                and the foundation of one of the world’s most
                                                                important marine ecosystems.   •  These restored corals have now begun to
                                                                                             reproduce on their own.
                                                                The reef system stretches about 350 miles from the
                                                                east coast of Florida in Martin County through the   Another exciting breakthrough has been the
                                                                                           development of a new coral “re-skinning” process
                                                                Florida Keys and out to the Dry Tortugas. More than
                                                                65% of Florida’s coral reef tract lies within the Florida   that allows us to restore large areas of reef-building
                                                                Keys National Marine Sanctuary that surrounds the   corals in just one to two years — instead of the
                                                                Florida Keys chain of islands   hundreds or thousands of years it might take
                                                                                           nature to build a reef on its own.  The cutting-edge
                                                                Sadly, the last 40 years have not been kind to our   technology of re-skinning allows small fragments
                                                                coral reefs and we’ve witnessed losses of more than   of brain, boulder and star coral to rapidly fuse back
                                                                90% of our indigenous coral coverage with some   together to form new coral head over the
                                                                species losing more than 97% of their populations.   dead skeleton.
                                                                RESTORATION                This gives us hope that full-scale restoration is
                                                                Not content to watch corals decline, Mote scientists   possible in our lifetime. Yet now, more than ever
                                                                developed cutting-edge processes to bring them   before, we find ourselves in need of new facilities
                                                                back. Today, we are growing thousands of staghorn   to continue our work.

                                                                                      More than 95% survival after one year






                                                                  INITIAL – MAY 2013  JUNE 2013  OCTOBER 2013  DECEMBER 2013  APRIL 2014



                                                                 To learn how you can become a part of Oceans of Opportunity: The Campaign for Mote Marine Laboratory
                                                                 and support the organization’s work in the Florida Keys, please contact Campaign Director Jennifer Vigne
                                                                               at 941-388-4441, ext. 393, or jvigne@mote.org
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