Coral reefs of the Florida Keys are unique national treasures. In general, reefs cover less than 1 percent of the ocean floor but support about 25 percent of marine life. However, reefs around the world are declining due to climate change, ocean acidification, coral disease, overfishing and other stressors. In some areas of Florida and the Caribbean, coral cover has declined by 50-80 percent in just the last three decades.Decades into his career, marine biologist David Vaughan stumbled upon a method for growing coral faster than had previously been believed possible. Now he has a new lease on life and is determined not to retire until he can plant a million new corals. David works at MOTE, where they are investigating potential strategies to help reverse these declines in our lifetime. In particular, they have developed a micro-fragmentation and fusion method to speed the growth of brain, boulder and star corals — crucial reef-building species known for their slow growth in the wild.