to test this new tracking method. The larvae were then incubated with one of four colored dyes at different concentrations.
The team found that two dyes– neutral red and Nile blue– successfully stained the coral larvae, while having minimal impact on their survival and eventual settlement in the sea floor. They then tested these two dyes on four other coral species in the lab, and found it successfully stained 90 percent of the larvae.
Representative images of free-swimming and newly metamorphosed larvae from Acropora anthocercis, Platygyra sinensis, Coelastrea aspera, and mixed Nile blue and neutral red stained Dipsastraea favus larvae. CREDIT: Doropoulos C and Roff G, 2022, PLOS Biology However, testing in a lab is more like testing in a fish tank compared to the open ocean. To test this technique in the field, the team used eggs from wild spawning corals on the