Nestled in the vibrant waters of the Caribbean lies a hidden gem of biodiversity and ecological health — the coral reef of Tela, Honduras.
In an era where the majority of coral reefs are experiencing degradation and decline, Tela’s reefs are a rare example of resilience and hope.
Tela Coral News
Beneath the Surface
🔎 Unlocking a genetic mystery on #TheRebelReef.
Scientists have recently discovered that great star coral (Montastrea cavernosa) is actually at least six different lineages! All genetically distinct but look-alikes, these “cryptic lineages” mean there’s more genetic diversity present on coral reefs (and hopefully more resilience) than if all M.cavs were just one species. This also means that coral reefs hold way more secrets than we ever knew!
So, of course, we had to ask: What’s the story in Tela?
This summer, an amazing team of scientists from the Matz Lab at The University of Texas at Austin (@utaustintx) and Scripps Institute of Oceanography (@scripps_ocean) joined us in Tela to investigate.
While surveying corals in Tela, they noticed something unique: our corals are feeding during the day way more than others in the Caribbean. Most corals gain up to 90% of their energy from symbiotic algae in their tissues rather than from filter feeding with their tentacles. The discovery in Tela makes us consider whether this seeming adaptation might be their secret survival skill in Tela’s murky, nutrient-rich waters?
Are Tela’s Great Star Corals part of a known lineage... or something completely unique to Honduras?
By studying the DNA of these corals and their unique metabolism (a cool new field called metabolomics), we’re uncovering the hidden blueprint of our reef. If Tela’s corals are one-of-a-kind, it makes protecting this special place more urgent than ever.
Stay tuned as we find out more.
https://telacoral.org/great-star-coral-science-project/
What if corals could talk?
Turns out, they’ve been keeping diaries for centuries — we just are now learning how to read them! Coral cores are a unique map of the history of the minerals and water as seen through the skeletons that certain types of corals build up. Taking a core of a coral can teach us what was going on at specific moments in time of that coral’s life.
During our May 2025 expedition, scientist Jonathan Jung from the Max Planck Institute (@maxplanckinstituteforchemistry) joined us to carefully extract cores from some of Tela’s oldest, wisest corals. Similar to how scientists can read tree rings to understand environmental conditions in the past, these coral cores will allow us to understand the story of the ocean’s past: temperatures, chemicals, big events, rainfall, and many other unknowns ... all recorded in the coral’s skeleton.
So why dig into the past? To understand a present-day mystery: why are Tela’s reefs so resilient when others around them are struggling?
We think these corals might be stronger because they’ve weathered tough conditions for a long, long time. To confirm our hypothesis, these cores are off to Germany for analysis. Using a technique involving stable isotopes (think of them as chemical breadcrumbs), scientists will see if Tela’s corals exhibit unique feeding habits that have helped them survive and also how these habits may have changed over time.
Join us as we work to decode their ancient survival guide to help protect reefs around the world.
To learn more, read our blog about this historic collaboration: https://telacoral.org/study-coral-histories-with-skeleton-cores/
🪸 We are so grateful for the enthusiastic response to our Music for the Ocean x Tela Coral music and science collaborations!
From our mind-blowing inaugural concerts in LA to an unforgettable night at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — complete with a packed house, a standing ovation, and so much great conversation about our coral biobank — it’s been an incredible ride.
And, we’re just getting started! Join us at one of our upcoming shows:
Nov 13th - The Waterford School, Salt Lake City
Nov 14th - Community Center, Spring City
Nov 20th - Austin State Theater (a hometown show for our very own Juli and Chantal!)
Nov 22nd - Texas A&M, College Station
🎟️ Tickets are selling quickly, so grab yours from the link below
https://telacoral.org/music-for-the-ocean-comes-to-austin-salt-lake-city/
🪸🪸 Big news for Tela’s BioBank!
Remember that perfect piece of land we secured in Honduras earlier this year? Well, progress is happening — fast! We’ve been preparing the land to set foundations and start building our big BioBank, which we’re calling “Phase 2” 🤩.
Meanwhile, we’ve continued to survey #TheRebelReef. Unfortunately, our local team at @tela_marine discovered a serious coral disease, known as Stony Coral Tissue loss Disease (SCTLD), recorded for the first time in Tela Bay.
SCTLD has decimated coral populations from Florida throughout the Caribbean. Scientists are still not 💯 positive what causes it, nor how to stop its path of destruction. As the coral disease has advanced on other reefs, some reef managers have rescued susceptible coral species into land-based biobanks to protect their precious genetics and biodiversity for the future.
Because Tela’s reefs are home to most of the species susceptible to SCTLD, we’re now looking to the same protective maneuvers 💪🏻💪🏻. While we don’t yet have the capacity to rescue all Tela’s endangered species, we decided to focus on one of the most susceptible genera: Meandrina. So, this summer, we launched a “Phase 1” rescue mission with Antal and the Tela Marine staff, collecting these vulnerable maze corals to hold safely at the Tela Marine aquarium. This facility will receive important upgrades thanks to support from the Stanley Creators Fund @stanley_brand that will enable it to protect even more corals.
“Phase 2” of our rescue mission will take place after the build out of the new, big BioBank on our land. There’s big progress because we just got a sneak peek at 12 custom tanks being built for us in Guatemala! We are still fundraising for the filtration and life-support systems for the coral, and any help is literally life-saving for our oceans 🌊. We’re eager for the day that these tanks will be able to support rescue efforts for the rest of the endangered species of coral in Tela Bay.
Read more about our efforts at the link below.
https://telacoral.org/telas-biobank-phases-1-and-2/
We’re still feeling the amazing energy from our partnership with Music for Oceans! 🎶🐠
Art and science belong together, and in service of our beautiful oceans 🌊— what could be better?! Thanks to this collaboration, we’ve made serious progress on our fundraising goal for #TheRebelReef and amplified the call for ocean conservation.
The connections and awareness from these events will create waves of impact for reefs in Tela, Honduras and across the globe. A huge round of applause to the talented artists who make it all happen (@chadwickcannon, @hw.musician, @audiowmc, @tim_rauch, @musicfornature_official).
Thank you, California and Massachusetts! Austin 🤠, you’re next! Nov. 20 at the Paramount Theatre. 👉🏻 Ticket link below. See you there! 🧜🏻♀️🦀🪼🤿
https://tickets.austintheatre.org/12968
#ExploraHonduras #VisitHonduras #Coral #CoralReefs #Ocean #OceanConservation #CoralRestoration #ReefRestoration #OceanClimateAction #WINGS #WINGSWomenOfDiscovery #WINGSFlag #WomenInScience #WomenInStem #WomenEmpowerment #WomenSupportingWomen #WomensLeadership #SheInspiresMe #Exploration #Honduras
