Paul Ferguson, UR- Hope for Dying Reefs

Paul Ferguson, UR -

    The topic I chose to cover was a segment from PBS Newshour discussing a new and faster way to try and replenish coral reefs off of the Florida Keys. The dying off of coral reefs is a problem that only seems to be advancing at alarming rates. Pollution, overfishing and climate change have pushed our oceans health to the brink. Transplanting new fragments of corals to dead reefs is something has been tried before. However, biologists out of Mote Tropical research lab in Summerland Key, Florida are trying a promising technique to hasten the process of reestablishing coral reefs. It is seen as groundbreaking because of the rate at which they are able to grow hard coral species.
    David Vaughan, head researcher, describes how in order for some of the hard coral species they are working with, it would take 500 to 1,000 years to grow to the size of a large boulder or small car. With estimates of coral loss to from 25 to 40% of the world’s corals, we simply don’t have the time to wait centuries for the coral reefs to reestablish themselves. The biologists discovered that when the corals are cut into small strips, they quickly try to heal themselves. This is essentially getting the coral to have forced growth spurts and likened it to human skin that quickly tries to heal when injured.
 
    One example showed a piece of brain coral that would have taken about 10 to 15 years to grow in the wild. They were able to reach that size in one year in the lab. What they then do is put multiple fragments in a circle about the size of a dinner plate, which eventually grows together creating a coral that would have taken 25 to 50 years grown in only one year. This can be likened to have multiple grass plugs in a yard that grow together to form one large yard. Once the microfragmentaion process begins, they are placed in the ocean in a cage for 30 days to keep fish like parrot fish from eating them until they have lost their bright color, and then transplanting them onto dead corals of the same species.
    With the rates at which they are able to regrow corals and the possibility of being able to have entire reefs regrown, this seems very promising. Corals have always been an interest of mine, whether it was diving in the keys or watching them grow (slowly) in my tank. Hopefully this process of microframentation yields some real results and hope for the world’s coral reefs.