For the first time, scientists have mapped the reproductive strategies and life cycle of an endangered coral species, offering hope it can be clawed back from its path to extinction. The purple cauliflower soft coral, Dendronephthya australis, is endemic to south-eastern Australia, with the largest populations historically found in the Port Stephens estuary in New South Wales. It is one of the 100 priority species on the Federal Government's Threatened Species Strategy. Not only is the future of the coral at stake—having experienced the complete loss of aggregations (clusters of colonies) in the estuary over the past three years and