What’s eating Florida’s Coral Reef? Thanks to a $33,000 Freedom to Fail innovation grant from our Foundation, researchers at the University of Miami launched an ambitious project to find out. Their goal: pinpoint which fish species are sabotaging coral restoration efforts by preying on newly planted corals. Enter the Coral-Baited Remote Underwater Video systems—a clever underwater surveillance setup using GoPros, coral “bait,” and PVC frames to record the reef’s most voracious grazers in action.
Over 400 coral fragments were planted across reefs in Miami-Dade County, and the results were clear: redband parrotfish, foureye butterflyfish, and stoplight parrotfish were responsible for more than 95% of bites. This kind of insight is invaluable to coral restoration teams trying to decide where and what coral species to plant. The Freedom to Fail program exists to fund high-risk, high-reward ideas just like this one, offering space for innovation that might not otherwise get a green light.
Florida’s Coral Reef, the only one of its kind in the continental U.S., has lost more than 90% of its coral cover since the 1970s. Rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and disease outbreaks have pushed this ecosystem to the brink. One of the most devastating threats is stony coral tissue loss disease, a fast-spreading illness that affects over 20 species of reef-building corals. In the face of these mounting challenges, successful restoration depends not just on planting coral, but ensuring it survives, making discoveries like these critical for our reefs’ recovery.
You can support work like this by donating to our Restoring Our Reefs fund.
