<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/20/scientists-experiment-is-beacon-of-hope-for-coral-reefs-on-brink-of-global-collapse>
"An underwater experiment to restore coral reefs using a combination of “coral
IVF” and recordings of fish noises could offer a “beacon of hope” to scientists
who fear the fragile ecosystem is on the brink of collapse.
The experiment – a global collaboration between two teams of scientists who
developed their innovative coral-saving techniques independently – has the
potential to significantly increase the likelihood that coral will repopulate
degraded reefs, they claim.
The first use of the combined techniques, to repair damaged atolls in the
Maldives, will be shown on the
BBC One TV series
Our Changing Planet,
co-presented by the naturalist Steve Backshall.Hailed as a potential
“gamechanger”, the hope is that the technique could be replicated on a large
scale to help preserve and revitalise dying reefs.
“All corals in all ocean basins in the world are under pressure,” said Prof
Peter Harrison, a coral ecologist at Southern Cross University in Australia.
“Quite a large number have died in some reef areas. So we’re going to end up
with big spaces of new real estate for coral larvae, but very few coral larvae
being produced because so many adults have died.”
He has pioneered a form of “coral IVF” that involves capturing millions of
spawn from “heat-tolerant” reproductive coral after it floats to the sea
surface or, alternatively, surrounding coral that has withstood a bleaching
event with a cone-shaped net. The net functions like a huge “coral condom”.
“If you breed from heat-tolerant corals that can survive heat stress in the
laboratory, the larvae of those corals also have higher heat tolerance than the
larvae of other corals,” said Harrison."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
