Over four years the Enhanced Corals and Treatments R&D Subprogram will undertake research on:
- The genetics of adaptation to understand the intrinsic potential for populations to respond to environmental change
- The potential for selective breeding to enhance performance of corals used for restoration purposes
- Algal and bacterial treatments to be applied during the coral propagation process (aquaculture and wild-caught) to enhance performance.
The research is planned to be delivered in three phases over 10 years.
Phase A will run for two to four years and focus on critical milestones with a focus on performance confirmation and cost breakthrough R&D.
Phase B will consolidate efforts on delivering larger-scale field trials and generalisable patterns.
Phase C will deliver the knowledge for implementation including regional-scale field trials.