Scientists Make Major Breakthrough in the Race to Save Coral in the Caribbean (cnn.com) 18
"Scientists at the Florida Aquarium have made a breakthrough in the race to save Caribbean coral," reports CNN.
"For the first time, marine biologists have successfully reproduced elkhorn coral, a critical species, using aquarium technology. It's a historic step forward, and one they hope could help revitalize Caribbean ecosystems and could pay humans back by offering extra protection from the fury of hurricanes." Elkhorn coral once dominated the Caribbean. But, just as other vital coral ecosystems are degrading around the world, elkhorn are now rarely seen alive in the wild. This species — so important because it provides the building blocks for reefs to flourish — has been until now notoriously difficult to grow in aquariums. Which is why scientists were thrilled when they saw their reproductive experiment was a success. "When it finally happened, the first sense is just sheer relief." said Keri O'Neil, the senior scientist that oversees the Tampa aquarium's spawning lab. "This is a critical step to preventing elkhorn coral from going extinct in the state of Florida...."
Elkhorn marks the aquarium's 14th species spawned inside the Apollo Beach lab, but the team ranks it as its most important yet. O'Neil estimates there are only about 300 elkhorn coral left in the Florida Keys Reef Tract — but the spawning experiment produced thousands of baby coral. She expects up to 100 of them could survive into adulthood.... The Florida Aquarium's news comes after scientists reported in early August that the Great Barrier Reef was showing the largest extent of coral cover in 36 years.
But the outlook for coral around the world is grim — studies have shown that the climate crisis could kill all of Earth's coral reefs by the end of the century. Elkhorn coral was listed as federally threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in 2006 after scientists found that disease cut the population by 97% since the 1980s. And ocean warming is its largest threat. As ocean temperature rises, coral expels the symbiotic algae that lives inside it and produces nutrients. This is the process of coral bleaching, and it typically ends in death for the coral.
"They're dying around the world," O'Neil told CNN. "We are at a point now where they may never be the same. You can't have the ocean running a fever every summer and not expect there to be impacts."
But the lab's senior scientist also emphasized to CNN that "There is hope for coral reefs. Don't give up hope. It's all not lost.
"However, we need to make serious changes in our behavior to save this planet."
"For the first time, marine biologists have successfully reproduced elkhorn coral, a critical species, using aquarium technology. It's a historic step forward, and one they hope could help revitalize Caribbean ecosystems and could pay humans back by offering extra protection from the fury of hurricanes." Elkhorn coral once dominated the Caribbean. But, just as other vital coral ecosystems are degrading around the world, elkhorn are now rarely seen alive in the wild. This species — so important because it provides the building blocks for reefs to flourish — has been until now notoriously difficult to grow in aquariums. Which is why scientists were thrilled when they saw their reproductive experiment was a success. "When it finally happened, the first sense is just sheer relief." said Keri O'Neil, the senior scientist that oversees the Tampa aquarium's spawning lab. "This is a critical step to preventing elkhorn coral from going extinct in the state of Florida...."
Elkhorn marks the aquarium's 14th species spawned inside the Apollo Beach lab, but the team ranks it as its most important yet. O'Neil estimates there are only about 300 elkhorn coral left in the Florida Keys Reef Tract — but the spawning experiment produced thousands of baby coral. She expects up to 100 of them could survive into adulthood.... The Florida Aquarium's news comes after scientists reported in early August that the Great Barrier Reef was showing the largest extent of coral cover in 36 years.
But the outlook for coral around the world is grim — studies have shown that the climate crisis could kill all of Earth's coral reefs by the end of the century. Elkhorn coral was listed as federally threatened under the US Endangered Species Act in 2006 after scientists found that disease cut the population by 97% since the 1980s. And ocean warming is its largest threat. As ocean temperature rises, coral expels the symbiotic algae that lives inside it and produces nutrients. This is the process of coral bleaching, and it typically ends in death for the coral.
"They're dying around the world," O'Neil told CNN. "We are at a point now where they may never be the same. You can't have the ocean running a fever every summer and not expect there to be impacts."
But the lab's senior scientist also emphasized to CNN that "There is hope for coral reefs. Don't give up hope. It's all not lost.
"However, we need to make serious changes in our behavior to save this planet."
The sky is falling (Score:1)
Why do we keep saying coral is dying, but ignore all the new areas that were previously inhospitable for coral that are now rendered hospitable?
Global warming also warms cooler areas...
Re: (Score:2)
The topic is coral reefs, there is no need to relocate any of the human race to areas that have become hospitable to coral. Also those areas are not limited to "the arctics", wherever that it is, but exists at greater depths in the VERY SAME locations as coral that currently exists.
Re: (Score:3)
Because it's not just warmer waters that can make areas inhospitable to coral, but also ocean acidification, which worsens globally with increased atmospheric CO2:
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/... [noaa.gov]
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not a marine biologist, but I'd go out on a limb and say that coral reefs don't move very fast, and they grow very, very slowly. (as opposed to individual coral organisms). I doubt most of them can pick up and just move. Also, it's silly to assume that the old habitable area and the new habitable area is will be continuously connected by an equally habitable area while this transition takes place. Any such transitions will likely sacrifice a large proportion of the currently existing coral reefs.
Re: (Score:1)
If only corals had a mobile reproductive phase where they can travel large distances as free-swimming organisms.
Oh wait, coral spawning!
Behaviour (Score:3)
"However, we need to make serious changes in our behavior to save this planet."
QFT.
But the ONLY way that will happen is with laws to force manufacturing/consuming to change.
That would be fascism though. Anti-American.
Re: (Score:2)
It would not be fascism, it would merely be called fascism by conservatives...kinda like you just did.
A massive, laissez-faire capitalist die-off of the human race might make serious enough changes to save the reefs and planet though. Who said those Ayn Rand lovers don't have solutions, even if they're the ones most in need of such a "correction"?
Re: (Score:2)
> Who said those Ayn Rand lovers don't have solutions, even if they're the ones most in need of such a "correction"?
Almost nobody cares enough to make changes.
If somebody grows most of their own food, takes cold showers, eschews air conditioning, and bicycles to work, then OK, I will listen to them.
It's not even hard or abnormal by historical standards.
But most people here would rather fuck around on Slashdot, burning CO2 than read a book or go for a walk in nature.
Re: (Score:2)
Almost nobody cares enough to make changes.
That's why we need LAWS.
eg. Force cocacola to take all those bottles back and recycle them themselves instead of just printing "Please recycle me!" on the labels.
A 100% tax on bottled water to pay for better tap water installations in areas where tap water tastes of sulfur due to all the fracking.
Re: (Score:2)
Also: Force the NIMBYs to shut up and accept the new power installations.
oh, great (Score:2)
>But the lab's senior scientist also emphasized to CNN that "There is hope for coral reefs. Don't give up hope. It's all not lost.
Thank goodness!
>"However, we need to make serious changes in our behavior to save this planet."
Oh shit, coral is screwed.
Re: (Score:2)
>"However, we need to make serious changes in our behavior to save this planet."
Oh shit, coral is screwed.
He said "this planet".
Hope they open up the process (Score:4, Informative)
Especially in Florida reef aquariums are very popular, by far the most popular type of aquarium for the state and look on Youtube or reef aquarium forums and the people into it take it very seriously, put quite a lot of money into and love having a challenge.
Breeding a particular, hard to raise coral that can also help the environment is something I bet a lot of serious hobbyists would be willing to partake in and donate parts of any corals they manage to spawn. Make it a crowd sourced effort and that will naturally carry bragging rights and that will get a lot of capable people onboard.
Re: (Score:2)
So WHAT WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH? (Score:2)
Neither the summary nor TFA tells us what it was they had to do to get the coral to spawn. The closest I see is that they had the timing of the pseudo-moonlight off "by three hours".
I'd like to know what, exactly, is it that they did that got the coral to spawn.
If that were published more widely, it would enable volunteers all over the world to grow the coral and then reseed reefs.