Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
Each year, when conditions are just right, Australia’s largest living icon bursts into new life in one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena on the planet: coral spawning.
During this annual event, corals simultaneously release millions of tiny egg and sperm bundles into the water in a simultaneous reproductive event.
Each bundle must find another bundle from the same species to fertilise. By spawning on mass, corals increase the likelihood of finding and fertilising a matching bundle.
Through research and development, we're looking to harness this natural reproductive process to fast-track world-leading restoration efforts. Corals reproduce for just a few days each year and research teams work around the clock to collect spawn and use it to grow new, resilient corals on the Reef or in special aquariums on land.
0:00 – The Great Barrier Reef comes to life
0:14 – How coral synchronises its spawning
0:29 – Inside the coral spawning process
1:04 – Coral restoration efforts
1:20 – Harnessing nature to help restore coral reefs
If you want to learn more about coral spawning visit: barrierreef.org/news/explainers/what-is-coral-spawning
Video credits: Johnny Gaskell, Hot Glue, AIMS.
Each year, when conditions are just right, Australia’s largest living icon bursts into new life in one of the most extraordinary natural phenomena on the planet: coral spawning.
During this annual event, corals simultaneously release millions of tiny egg and sperm bundles into the water in a simultaneous reproductive event.
Each bundle must find another bundle from the same species to fertilise. By spawning on mass, corals increase the likelihood of finding and fertilising a matching bundle.
Through research and development, we're looking to harness this natural reproductive process to fast-track world-leading restoration efforts. Corals reproduce for just a few days each year and research teams work around the clock to collect spawn and use it to grow new, resilient corals on the Reef or in special aquariums on land.
0:00 – The Great Barrier Reef comes to life
0:14 – How coral synchronises its spawning
0:29 – Inside the coral spawning process
1:04 – Coral restoration efforts
1:20 – Harnessing nature to help restore coral reefs
If you want to learn more about coral spawning visit: barrierreef.org/news/explainers/what-is-coral-spawning
Video credits: Johnny Gaskell, Hot Glue, AIMS.
