Marine Life & Conservation
Lab-Grown Coral – The Latest Plan To Save Earth’s Reefs
The planet’s coral reefs are dying so fast that some scientists say they will be gone by the middle of this century. But now, there’s a desperate attempt afoot to save corals from extinction: in vitro fertilisation.
After years of captive breeding, scientists are now reporting that lab-grown corals have reproduced in the wild for the first time. Specimens of Elkhorn — a highly endangered reef-building species that once blanketed vast swaths of the Caribbean seafloor — were reared from gametes collected in the wild, fertilised in vitro, and planted back out in the ocean. They have now reached sexual maturity.
For marine conservation biologists, this is a big deal. But there’s still a long way to go to save coral reef ecosystems, which support a quarter of the Earth’s marine species.
In 2010, researchers at SECORE international and several aquariums teamed up to develop techniques aimed at rearing large numbers of Elkhorn embryos in captivity. Unlike earlier “coral gardening” efforts, in which fragments of adult coral are collected, spawned asexually in nurseries and then returned to their reef, the focus of SECORE’s work has been on creating new genetic types of coral via sexual reproduction.
“SECORE developed a technique whereby male and female gametes are caught in the wild and fertilised in the laboratory to raise larger numbers of genetically unique corals,” SECORE director Dirk Petersen said in a statement. That genetic diversity is vital to weathering new environmental challenges.
But injecting diversity into a reef is a slow, tricky business. In the wild, Elkhorn corals only reproduce once a year, following the full moon in August. During the past several breeding cycles, SECORE biologists have set out nets to gently collect sperm and eggs as they’re released. The gametes are then brought to a lab and mixed in vitro to produce embryos. After a short period of time in a nursery, these embryos are then settled out into a reef. Four years later, they’re ready to reproduce again.
While the team’s success is encouraging, SECORE is aware that lab-grown coral aren’t going to be performing any miracles. In the Caribbean, coral populations have declined an estimated 80 percent over the past forty years.
“Our techniques can only support natural recovery, which means that conditions have to be appropriate to allow long term survival of outplanted corals,” said Petersen.
Unfortunately, conditions in the marine tropics are becoming less and less coral-friendly with each passing year. Massive coral bleachings, brought on by too-warm ocean waters, are now a regular event. As acid builds up in the world’s oceans, it’s becoming harder for corals to secrete and maintain their calcium carbonate exoskeletons. And many corals are extremely sensitive to pollution. Oxybenzone, a compound found in almost every major brand of sunscreen, poisons corals in several different ways.
Lab-grown coral is a triumph for science – but it’s just the beginning if we are to save coral reefs from destruction.
Source: www.gizmodo.com.au
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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