https://vimeo.com/180242168

More exciting news from Richard Ross and the team of scientists working at the Coral Restoration Foundation’s coral nursery in Florida – the Acropora cervicornis larvae that they collected are now three days old, and have started to swim! This species of coral reproduces sexually just once a year; 4-5 days after the full moon in August, the corals release millions of sperm-egg bundles into the surrounding water. Some of the resulting coral larvae (planula) settle immediately on the same reef, while others swim and drift before settling on a suitable surface. In the video above, Rich captured these tiny animals just as they are starting to move on their own.