NEWS
Derbyaimstobea globaldestinationformountainbikersA TEAM OF Queensland researchers are
on a mission to repopulate damaged corals
of the Great Barrier Reef using a coral
'IVF' program.
The Larval Restoration Team led by
Professor Peter Harrison from Southern
Cross University and including
researchers Katie Chartrand from James
Cook University and Associate Professor
David Suggett from the University of
Technology Sydney, ‘turbocharged’
millions of coral larvae with algae
symbionts to help replenish heavily
damaged sections of the reef.
“This innovative technique is like giving
the baby corals a ‘battery pack’ by allowing
the coral larvae to take up symbiotic algae,
giving them the potential to acquire more
energy, and therefore grow faster and
survive better,” Professor Harrison said.
“If we succeed in increasing their
survival rate it can make a big difference
in being able to scale up future restoration
processes.”For the first time, the team is also
trialling newly designed ‘coral nursery’
rearing pools, and it seems to be paying
off. According to Professor Harrison there
are millions of healthy coral larvae ready
to be dispersed.
This project is funded by the
Queensland and Australian Governments
and is a collaboration between the
University researchers and key industry
partners including Aroona Boat Charters
and Reef Magic. — CLCoral IVF to
restore Great
Barrier Reef
THISAPRIL 17 to 19,Derbywillplay
hostto DerbyFest,presentedby
Shimano,a celebrationof allthings
MTBintheregionwhichaimsto
cementthetownashometo someof the
besttrailsworldwide.
RunbyBlueDerbyMountainBike
TrailsandtheDorsetCouncil,theevent
is pencilledinforthenextthreeyears
andis producedinconjunctionwith
ShimanoandtheTasmanian
Government.
Ontopof theriding,there’llbelive
music,localproduce,craftbeer,wine
andspirits,anddisplaysof thelatest
MTBgear.A lotof thiswillbehostedin
New Tassie
MTB Festival
the main street which will be closed off
from traffic.
Additional camping sites to those
normally available will be offered and
there’ll be MTB classes, skills and techwisdom development workshops and
product tests to engage with.
An adult ticket costs $30, camping
costs $15, and those under 18 can attend
for free.28 / Outdoor