According to the sixth assessment report (AR6) published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), restoration efforts and management approaches available for coral reefs, especially for the heat-resistant populations, are effective to sustain some coral ecosystems beyond 1.5°C of warming. Since 2023, Delta starts our devotion to coral sexual reproduction and contributes to the research of heat-tolerant coral species cultivation. 

During the coral spawning season (April-June) of 2023, Delta’s volunteers together with researchers of the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium collect coral sperm and eggs, as well as conduct artificial insemination and incubation in the laboratory to enhance the success rate of heat-tolerant coral colonization. In the current stage, we expect to help complete the collection and incubation of 10 types of coral and keep culturing heat-tolerant phycobionts. 

On the other hand, we work with another research team of the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium to adopt Delta's aquaculture system, which likewise consists of LED lighting and industrial automation solutions, to simulate warming environments for different types of coral and explore their heat tolerance. To identify the optimal coral breeding conditions, we further assist scientists in adopting Delta's microcomputer tomography equipment to analyze factors such as coral bone density, soft tissue, and the composition of phycobionts. The collected data helps us check corals' health under the aquaculture system. 

The resilience-based management (RBM), advocated by the international coral community to strengthen restoration works, suggests sourcing corals from a diversity of genotypes and reef habitats. It also values whether the restoration works proceeded in multiple sites with different oceanographic conditions and thermal regimes. Attempting to align our works with RBM, we plan with scientists to source heat-tolerant corals situated in different water areas around Taiwan and will explore the possibility of transplantation in different sites.