Fact Friday
Scientists are trying to mitigate the decline of corals. One way to do this is to grow and “plant” them. Coral ecologists grow corals in nurseries created either on land or in the ocean. As with most plants, you can break a leaf off and grow it into a whole new plant. The same process can be used to grow coral. When a piece of a coral is broken off, it can be regrown into another coral, and when they are large enough, they are transplanted from the nursery to the coral reef.
Photo Credit: James Byrne
February 21, 2025
Sea Turtle
Sea turtles can hold their breath for 4-7 hours while sleeping and resting. How do they do it? Sea turtles are reptiles; like humans, they breathe air. They cannot breathe underwater. When a sea turtle is inactive, its metabolism and heartbeat “slows down,” which decreases the amount of oxygen it uses in its blood. Sea turtles can slow their heartbeat so that it only beats once every nine minutes! For comparison, the human heart beats an average of 80 times in one minute. One breath from the surface can go a long way for these amazing animals.
Photo Credit: Ken Marks
