AUSTRALIA -- There is no doubt that the Great Barrier Reef serves more than its intended purpose. And its popularity has caused people to produce more harm to it than good. And now that it is beginning to experience massive destruction, scientists could only help by sending an undersea robot that will be there to save it.
A team of respected Australian scientists built a robot that can withstand the pressure and temperature underwater. It is the kind that can deliver larval coral that will help restore the damages incurred by the reef. Although this may seem like it brings about the minimal effect, scientists hope that with joint efforts, the Great Barrier Reef can be restored back to its former glory.
LarvalBot, the delivery drone, is a more sophisticated model of the underwater drone previously designed to hunt and kill the predators of the corals. Yet another model has been made to help the coral reefs recover from its damages. The scientists behind the study consider this as similar to how people take care of the lawn to grow back healthy grass. According to the Particle, except for the fact that it is not growing grass, it is helping scientists grow back the natural ecosystem that thrives in the corals.
To help with the reseeding of the coral reef with larvae, scientists are required to gather the seeds first. Back in November of last year, scientists gathered millions of coral eggs and sperms and called their project as the "coral IVF."
The LarvalBot has already made its first milestone delivery in December. The scientists are currently planning another expedition to coincide with the reefs natural cycle of mass spawning. This happens along the months of October and November. When this happens, the LarvalBot will go deep down. It will intentionally drop off larvae. Researchers remain hopeful that they will take root underwater and become new corals.
The robots may seem like a product of human technology, but it remains to be a product that is aimed at improvement and protection. Perhaps it is best that scientists and common people look into this new technology as something truly beneficial for both science and the ecosystem. After all, it is not every day that you get to grow corals and make it happen right before your eyes.
