Healthy corals in the Votua Marine Protected Area of the Fiji Islands are shown in this photo. Georgia Tech researchers are studying chemicals produced by seaweed species that can harm coral.
By embedding seaweed chemicals in gel pads on window screen and placing these on corals in the field, researchers identified seaweed molecules that damaged corals.
The reef within Votua Villages’ marine protected area (MPA) flourishes with abundant corals and few algae. Chemically-damaging algae are rare on healthy reefs.