The University of Derby is a world leader in coral research, helping to develop a pioneering breeding programme that could safeguard the world’s precious reefs. The university prides itself on carrying out research that can be applied to real-world situations and which is helping to tackle global environmental challenges.
Although Derby is about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, the city’s university is a powerhouse of marine science. Its groundbreaking research, innovative collaborations and host of international networks have helped to produce some of the world’s leading marine scientists, especially in the study of coral.
Prof Michael Sweet
Professor of molecular ecology at the University of Derby
A world authority on coral, the professor manages the university’s aquatic research facility and heads the Nature-based Solutions Research Centre. He is co-founder of the Coral Spawning Lab and works with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the United Nations to transfer science to policy.
Dr Jamie Craggs
Principal aquarium curator and living collections manager at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in south London
A former PhD student at the University of Derby, Craggs co-founded the Coral Spawning Lab with Prof Sweet.
“Some 30% of all marine life relies on coral,” says Prof Michael Sweet, an international coral expert and tutor to the university’s PhD students. “As well as having huge ecological value, these diverse ecosystems also have significant economic value. Millions of people rely on them for their livelihoods, while they also protect coastal communities from extreme weather events and storms.”
Yet despite their importance, the world’s great reefs are in danger, with mass bleaching events caused by rising temperatures meaning that an estimated 90% could be extinct by the 2030s.
The experts’ discussion on conservation in our oceans covered three main areas, and the key points are summarised here:
Restoring the world’s reefs
The university is helping to restore reefs on a global scale, working in partnership with the likes of the Horniman Museum and Gardens in south London – the first to crack the code for breeding corals in captivity back in 2013.
“Mature corals usually only spawn once a year,” says Sweet, “releasing their eggs and sperms at the same time in a process governed by the lunar cycle and water temperature. But it is thought that only one in a million fertilised eggs make it to adulthood.”
The survival rate has been further hampered because some reefs are so damaged that corals of the same species may live miles apart, with little chance of their eggs and sperm mixing.
Now, using bespoke custom made tanks (with water that matches the temperatures of a reef, and lighting which mimics the cycles of the sun and moon), the research team has encouraged more than 50 different types of coral to spawn across the whole year, rather than in just one specific month as they would do in nature.
Dr Jamie Craggs, principal aquarium curator at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, adds: “This time-phased spawning means hundreds of thousands of young corals are now being bred in laboratories around the world, where they can grow and develop in controlled conditions before being transplanted on to damaged reefs.”
Now the team is pushing boundaries even further and coating the small porcelain plugs (used for larval settlement) with a layer of probiotics (good bacteria) that improve survivorship. “Nature can build a reef with the 40-60% of coral cover that we need in about 15 years,” he says. “What we can do is accelerate that and give them a helping hand by creating a pipeline of reproduction.”
The world-leading research took a commercial turn when Sweet and Craggs founded the Coral Spawning Lab in 2020. This knowledge-exchange project ensures that other universities working on reef research, as well as conservation groups looking to grow corals in a laboratory, have the tools they need to make a difference and save our reefs.
The team has also developed a “lab in a box”, with the spawning systems built into shipping containers with off-grid capabilities – a self-sufficient electrical supply. These are now positioned in countries from Germany to Saudi Arabia. The company is also working with Canon, using its imaging equipment to monitor the lifecycle of corals once they have been planted out on reefs.
A student’s perspective: ‘I’ve worked with world authorities on marine science’
“I’ve always been fascinated with the ocean, and the role it plays in helping to create a balanced planet,” says Kara Rising, originally from Columbus, Ohio, in the US, and currently a PhD student at the University of Derby specialising in the study of seagrass.
“Seagrass is such an overlooked plant. It offers so many benefits, from a breeding ground for fish, to purifying water and storing carbon in its sediments. In fact, it’s now seen as one of the top three most valuable ecosystems in the world.
“My work is looking at the unique relationship between seagrass and beneficial bacteria that naturally live among its roots. They help the seagrass to grow and fend off diseases, helping to create healthier underwater meadows.
“Being at the University of Derby has not only meant that I have access to state of the art facilities but it has given me incredible opportunities to work with world-leading researchers and authorities on marine science, and the chance to be part of ground-breaking international collaborations.
“I’m also helping to set up a new database called SEAFLORA, pulling together data on how and when seagrass flowers, so that conservationists know when is the best time to go out and collect the seeds.”
Supporting seagrass
While corals are key to marine biodiversity, when it comes to the ocean’s ability to soak up carbon, seagrass takes over. Sweet and his team are now also working on encouraging seagrasses – the only flowering plants in the ocean – to flower in laboratory conditions, so that the seeds can be harvested (see box). At the end of June 2024, Sweet witnessed the first flowers to appear in the University of Derby’s aquatic research facility, another world first, and is now waiting eagerly for the seeds to develop.
Some seagrass meadows around the world are declining at a rate of 10.9% a year, so steps need to be taken to mitigate this. Sweet says: “This is about getting the tools in place in case global warming begins to have a major effect on seagrass in the same way that it has decimated coral. Sadly, coastal development is high up on the list of threats to these vital ecosystems, however typhoons and tsunamis can also devastate beds.
“That said, with sea temperatures rising, I would expect to see mass die off in the next few years as meadows succumb to diseases which waste away their fronds. The work we are undertaking at the university on probiotics and cracking the flowering of seagrass ex situ will be vital tools in the coming years.”
Research that is applied to real-life situations
Sweet has a habit of establishing projects with former PhD students. For example, Sweet and Dr Martin Stelfox founded the Olive Ridley Project, which tackles the issues around ghost gear (lost and abandoned fishing nets) and their entanglement of turtles. The British registered charity works around the world but mainly throughout the Indian Ocean. An example of this is the establishment of turtle rehabilitation centres in the Maldives, and the creation of an online e-learning tool to educate the public about the problem.
“What is important,” says Sweet, “is that our research is not research for research’s sake, it is applied to real-world situations. This is an approach that is at the heart of the University of Derby, in the way we conduct research but also how our students learn.
“We are looking at multiple methods to try and help nature and to solve some of the huge challenges the world is facing,” he adds. “It is these sort of collaborations, working with charities and industry alike, which really get things moving and make a difference.”
The seminar’s key takeaways
• The University of Derby, together with organisations such as the Horniman Museum and Gardens and the Olive Ridley Project, is helping protect and restore the world’s struggling reefs.
• A spin out company is now making the technology available to other universities and conservation groups around the world.
• The university’s PhD students continue to play a crucial role in developing new research that can be applied to real-life situations and has clear, visible impact on a global scale.
To find out more and start your journey to becoming a graduate with the expertise to make a difference in the world, head to derby.ac.uk
