ADOPT A BASE
Embark on this mission with us and become an ocean steward
Adopt a coral base and save the reef! You can take action to restore the reefs from the comfort of your home.
Choose your base and coral species
​​You can select one of our 300 coral bases planted in the Mesoamerican Reef this past month, name it, and support its well-being in its new home. Your donation will help these coral babies' ongoing monitoring and maintenance, in the form of boat time, materials, and research activities.
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PRICES ARE IN MEXICAN PESOS
How dose it work?
Coral
1. Coral base outplant.
Our team outplanted the coral bases back on the reef in November 2022.
2. Select your Coral Base.
There are a total of 300 coral bases with three different species and assortments.
3. Personalize it!
Name your coral base, add your personal information, or make it a gift using the adopt me form.
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4. Be part of the change.
Receive an adoption certificate to your email for a small donation
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Adopt Me!
By adopting a coral base, you can name it and support its well-being in its new home. With your contribution, you will receive a personalized certificate with a photograph of your unique coral base and personalized name to the provided email within 24-48 hours.
What are coral bases?
​Microfragmentation is a restoration technique that involves cutting whole coral colonies into ~2 cm fragments, optimizing colony growth, increasing diversity, and facilitating reproduction. The microfragments promote restoration efforts of slow-growing, disease-susceptible massive stony coral species. These coral fragments are placed close to each other in the base and then, the tissue grows to regenerate a whole sexually mature coral colony. The base aids as a baseline for the coral to invest all its energy in expanding the tissue rather than on building the skeleton. Learn more about this methodology on our last blog post.
Importance
This project is to re-introduce and restore coral species that were lost to the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD). SCTLD has significantly high prevalence, high rates of transmission, and high mortality, affecting approximately 22 reef-building coral species. The disease was first reported in the Mexican Caribbean in 2018 quickly spreading along the reef, killing thousands of corals. At the Arrecife de Puerto Morelos National Park (APMNP), the disease has begun to decline. Still, concerns remain about continued SCTLD presence, which may prevent the successful restoration of affected species.
Objective
Implement microfragmentation in the Arrecife de Puerto Morelos National Park (APMNP) using 3 SCTLD reef-building affected species to assess the restoration success on the reef with active disease
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In collaboration with Coralisma, NSU and INAPESCA, we are re-introducing three SCTLD affected species (Orbicella faveolata, Orbicella annularis, Montastraea cavernosa) on the APMNP reefs as an experimental framework, to see if the reef is ready to be restored. Using microfragmentation as a restoration technique, placing fragments on coral bases. The data and information obtained on year 1 will be used to evaluate the reintroduction of SCTLD affected species and assist in creating a coral restoration management plan for future disease outbreaks.
Choose your coral species
Orbicella faveolata (OFAV)
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Colonies of this species are large and can vary considerably in appearance.
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OFAV has declined rapidly in the last few decades and is now absent in many of the shallow reef habitats it once dominated
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Found in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and the Bahamas.
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Orbicella faveolata is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Mountainous Star Coral
Orbicella annularis (OANN)
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OANN is one of the most dominant species across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico where it can form extremely large colonies which vary in morphologies.
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Found across the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Latin America and north to Bermuda.
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Orbicella annularisis listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Boulder Star Coral
Great Star Coral
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MCAV polyps are the size of a human thumb and can fully extend at night
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Native to Trinidad and Tobago but found across the Atlantic Ocean; in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Bermuda and Brazil.
Montastraea cavernosa (MCAV)
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