File:Planting Corals Now.jpg: Difference between revisions

Biodiversity and Ecosystems

GreenPolicy360:

Act to Preserve and Protect: Planet Citizens Saving Wildlife

Nurseries of the Ocean, Saving Diversity, Saving Life, Saving Coral Reefs

The preservation of a wide range of coral species is extremely important to maintain balance and stability within marine ecosystems.

Although coral reefs cover less than 1% of the world’s ocean floors, around 25% of marine fish species utilise or inhabit coral reefs at some point in their lives

🌎

Planet Citizens

Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists

Planet Citizen Action in Florida

Living Coastlines, Living Shorelines

Scientists work to save Florida's endangered coral reefs and ocean life

February 2, 2023

Orlando, Florida (AP) — Just off the Florida Keys lies the world's third-largest coral reef, which was once a vibrant habitat for millions of plants and animals. But an outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease threatens to destroy 20 of the 45 species found there, including larger reef-building corals.

"This disease that's burning through the Florida Keys is an incredible event that's happening," said Andrew Stamper, conservation science manager.

"It's like a wildfire."

Stamper says that endangers Florida's fishing industry and food supply. "Unfortunately, we do not know exactly what is causing this," he said.

In order to save the reef, scientists have moved some species hundreds of miles away to a lab in Orlando. Scientists at the lab work to simulate breeding conditions — work that is both delicate and painstaking. LED lights replicate the sun and moon cycles. Volunteers feed the coral in water treated to mimic its real habitat.

"This essentially is a gene bank," said Jim Kinsler, aquarium curator at SeaWorld Orlando. "We're trying to protect the genetics of these corals so that their offspring can ultimately be returned back to the Florida reef tract."

• https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/coral-disease/media.html

Florida’s Spectacular Coral Reef System

August 2022

Coral reefs are one of the most threatened marine systems. Scientists estimate that unless we take immediate action, we could lose up to 90% of coral reefs within our lifetimes.

Colorful parrotfish, angelfish, wrasses, barracuda, nurse sharks, stingrays, delicate corals, other invertebrates and turtles—all are inhabitants of Florida’s beautiful coral reefs. Florida's Coral Reef is the largest coral reef ecosystem in the continental U.S., with its extensive shallow coral reefs that span 358 miles from the Dry Tortugas near Key West, north along the Atlantic coast to Martin County.

• https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/florida/stories-in-florida/floridas-spectacular-coral-reef-system/

See the Florida Coral Rescue Center

Florida's 360-mile-long reef track is a "biological powerhouse" on par with Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef, according to Beth Firchau, project coordinator for the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. But it's also an economic powerhouse that "generates $8.5 billion in revenue for the state of Florida every year, and 70,000 jobs are benefited by the 'blue economy.'" Because of that, the "localized extinction event" affecting 22 of the 45 corals that form Florida's reef structures poses serious ecological and economic dangers for the region.

As a result of that threat, researchers began collecting thousands of coral samples in the wild, staying ahead of the disease progression to preserve healthy specimens for safekeeping in facilities like the FCRC. The coral are currently distributed in 22 locations across the country, but Orlando's 2058-square-foot facility is the project's epicenter, caring for over 700 of the program's 2,000 rescuees. Bathed in cool blue light, row after row of the bumpy brain-like polyps — which range from fist-sized to bigger than a bread loaf — soak in shallow trays of seawater, forming a living "bio-bank" that will hopefully safeguard the coral's gene pool for future transplantation back into their native habitat.

Creating the FCRC required an unprecedented collaboration coordinated by the AZA between Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and NOAA Fisheries, along with corporate competitors SeaWorld and Disney (via their Conservation Fund).

• https://www.aza.org/aza-news-releases/posts/florida-coral-rescue-center-established-to-help-save-florida-reefs

Tourists and Dying Coral: Connections

• https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/949901b33d934643a52a0b741f066556

Images of Florida Keys Coral Reef Restoration / Fish and Wildlife Conservation

• https://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwc/albums/72157632749476739

More on Corals/Coral Reef Preservation and Restoration

Florida Department of Environment

• https://floridadep.gov/rcp/coral/content/stony-coral-tissue-loss-disease-response

• https://floridadep.gov/rcp/coral

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

• https://myfwc.com/conservation/coral/

• https://myfwc.com/research/habitat/coral/disease/

Lab-Grown Corals, Key to Conservation?

• https://earth.org/could-lab-grown-corals-be-the-key-to-conservation/

Florida’s Coastal Reef has suffered devastating effects of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) for several years now, following an outbreak on the coast of Miami-Dade County in 2014. Due to its high rate of transmission, numerous reefs along the Caribbean have similarly fallen victim to the infection. Although marine epidemics are rather common, due to extensive water circulation, the situation at present greatly concerns scientists for its substantial geographic range, lengthy duration, lack of seasonality, quick progression, high mortality rate and indiscriminate nature. It first affects the symbiotic algae, or zooxanthellae, living within coral structures. Thereafter, tissue cells begin to rupture and die.

Over 96,000 acres, approximately 95%, of the Florida Reef Tract has been affected by the disease, whilst in the Mexican Caribbean the outbreak has had an impact on more than 30% of all corals. SCTLD largely targets reef-building corals, such as pillar corals (Dendrogyra cylindrus), elliptical star corals (Dichocoenia stokesii), and boulder brain corals (Colpophyllia natans), some of which are already listed as endangered species. Once infected, mortality rates range from 66-100%; some corals suffer substantial tissue erosion without succumbing completely to the disease, whilst for others, death occurs within a few weeks or months.

Twenty two sites from across the United States have successfully bred several species of lab-grown stony corals. This achievement is intended to lead to the large-scale propagation of corals for future restoration of reefs, not only in Florida and the Caribbean, but in waters that have suffered greatly from global warming.

In a press release issued in August 2020, after having successfully bred Atlantic pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) in their laboratory, the Florida Aquarium stated, “lab-induced spawning allows us to produce more larvae with a much higher diversity of parents than we ever could from wild spawning.”

🌎

Mote Marine Laboratory

• https://mote.org/research/program/coral-reef-restoration/coral-reef-restoration-program-current-projects

• https://mote.org/research/program/coral-reef-restoration

• https://mote.org/news/article/mote-scientists-and-pharmaceutical-innovators-work-with-the-national-park-s

• https://mote.org/research/program/coral-reef-restoration/coral-reef-restoration-program-research-collaborations

• https://www.wsp.com/en-us/news/2021/mote-marine-laboratory-strategic-partnership

October 2022

• https://mote.org/news/article/mote-scientists-present-at-reef-futures-conference-on-coral-reef-restoratio

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium scientists participated in a conference consisting of a series of workshops that brought together over 600 coral restoration practitioners, researchers, students and resource managers from around the world to share the latest techniques, technologies and science to dramatically scale-up the impact and reach of coral reef restoration. Held at Ocean Reef Club near Key Largo, Florida, this week-long event highlighted efforts made by Mote staff across a multitude of specialized research.

Reef Futures is the premier global symposium focused solely on the interventions and actions necessary to ensure coral reefs thrive into the next century. The conference welcomed those new to the field and experienced professionals to discuss their passion about the field of coral reef restoration.

Mote’s massive nursery-grown coral ready to spawn in the wild (2020)

Dr. Hanna Koch, a scientist with Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, confirms that coral raised in a land-based nursery can spawn after being outplanted on the Florida Reef Tract SUMMERLAND KEY — As part of the monumental chore of restoring the Florida Reef Tract, scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research and Restoration have a goal of outplanting as many as 20,000 corals a year.

• https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2020/08/07/coral-grown-mote-laboratory-summerland-key-now-ready-spawn/3316416001/

Reef Resiliency Network

• https://reefresilience.org/management-strategies/restoration/coral-populations/larval-propagation/

Coral Rescue Partners

• https://myfwc.com/research/habitat/coral/disease/rescue/

🌎

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

• https://coralreef.noaa.gov/

• https://www.coris.noaa.gov/

CoRIS: Coral Reef Information System

CoRIS is the Coral Reef Conservation Program's (CRCP) information portal that provides access to NOAA coral reef information and data products with emphasis on the U.S. states, territories and remote island areas. NOAA Coral Reef activities include coral reef mapping, monitoring and assessment; natural and socioeconomic research and modeling; outreach and education; and management and stewardship.

• https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/large-scale-coral-restoration-begins-in-florida-keys-sanctuary

USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

The modern, ecological coral reef crisis.... The geological collapse of Florida’s reefs left the ecosystem balanced at a delicate tipping point where a veneer of living coral was the only barrier to reef erosion. Modern climate change and anthropogenic disturbances have now pushed many reefs past that critical threshold and into a novel (modern) ecosystem state in which reef structures built over thousands of years are rapidly eroding.

• https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc

🌎

Restoring Resilient Reefs

H.R.160 — 117th Congress (2021-2022)

• https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/160

The US Congress advances coral reef protection legislation --

reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Coral Reef Conservation Program;

directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to provide block grants to states to support state coral reef management and restoration;

requires NOAA to establish standards for the formation of partnerships among government and community members for the stewardship of coral reefs;

provides statutory authority for the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force to lead, coordinate, and strengthen federal government actions to preserve, conserve, and restore coral reef ecosystems;

requires the Department of the Interior to provide grants upon the declaration of a coral reef emergency to implement emergency plans;

authorizes Interior to provide scientific expertise, technical assistance, and financial assistance for the conservation and restoration of coral reefs; and

establishes a National Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program.

Related legislation /

H.R.9453 - Coral Reef Sustainability Through Innovation Act of 2022 Related bill CRS 12/07/2022 Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

S.46 - Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2021 Identical bill CRS 12/17/2021 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 223. Related bill House

S.5199 - Coral Sustainability Through Innovation Act of 2022 Related bill CRS 12/07/2022 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR <a href="/congressional-record/volume-168/senate-section/page/S7035-7036">S7035-7036</a>)

🌎

Dire Forecasts

With predictions of climate models that track a trend in overheating oceans with most global coral reefs dying by the end of this century...there's hope if humans intervene and use tools of science to manage coral rejuvenation... with the diverse, biodiversity of ocean life that gathers around coral reef ecosystems

• https://www.scidev.net/global/news/coral-species-that-withstand-ocean-warming-identified/

How coral reefs are being restored in the Florida Keys, a model project

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/kids/video/how-disappearing-coral-reefs-are-being-restored-in-the-florida-keys/vi-AA16Pqru

Reefs are in trouble. Can scientists nurture more resilient coral?

Now is the time for Planet Citizens, Planet Scientists to Protect Ocean Life with 'Human-assisted Evolution'

Scientists are trying to replicate resilient “super reefs” to slow the decline of one of the ocean’s most important ecosystems

• https://www.csmonitor.com/text_edition/Environment/2023/0123/Reefs-are-in-trouble.-Can-scientists-nurture-more-resilient-coral

• https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2023/0123/Reefs-are-in-trouble.-Can-scientists-nurture-more-resilient-coral

In Florida, Restoring the Reefs is Becoming a Priority

"Iconic Reefs"

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation in support of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Mission: Iconic Reefs is one of the largest collaborative coral reef restoration efforts the world has ever seen, made possible through years of restoration practice, research, and innovation that have laid the comprehensive foundations for the mission’s success.

Launched in December 2019 by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Mission: Iconic Reefs (M:IR) is a multi-partner effort bringing members of the local Florida Keys community alongside coral restoration organizations, personnel from across NOAA programs, nonprofit funding entities, multiple Florida state agencies, and researchers from various local, national, and international institutions. Collectively, partners are coming together to support the future of the reefs and the communities who depend on them.

M:IR will add over 450,000 mature corals, utilizing more than half of the native stony coral species found in Florida, to seven iconic reefs spread across the sanctuary.

_________________________________________________

Coral reefs and coastal tourism in Hawaii

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-01021-4

Abstract

Coral reefs are popular for their vibrant biodiversity. By combining web-scraped Instagram data from tourists and high-resolution live coral cover maps in Hawaii, we find that, regionally, coral reefs both attract and suffer from coastal tourism. Higher live coral cover attracts reef visitors, but that visitation contributes to subsequent reef degradation. Such feedback loops threaten the highest quality reefs, highlighting both their economic value and the need for effective conservation management. Establishing strong local reef-protecting policies and coral restoration efforts could become common practices

Tourists problems and AI Science

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/grrlscientist/2023/01/16/tourists-are-loving-hawaiis-coral-reefs-to-death/?sh=a2d6de8633dc

• https://phys.org/news/2023-01-social-media-aerial-sea-floor.html

🌎

In Australia, as the Great Barrier Reef Is in Great Danger

Evolution of Coral IVF (Larval Reseeding) enhances recovery of coral reefs

Coral larval restoration is an idea conceived by Southern Cross University's Distinguished Professor Peter Harrison during the discovery of the mass coral spawning on Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in the early 1980s, and is also known as Coral IVF or larval reseeding. However, unlike laboratory-based reseeding efforts, Coral IVF is conducted directly on coral reefs.

• https://phys.org/news/2023-01-evolution-coral-ivf-recovery-reefs.html

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/great-barrier-reef-restoration-transplanting-corals

🌎

Planting Corals

Good News, Resilience, Coral Communities, Ocean Life

Scientist's accidental discovery makes coral grow 40x faster

There might be hope for our oceans, thanks to 'one clumsy moment in a coral tank'

Sarasota, Florida, Mott Marine Labs

• https://www.plant-a-million-corals.com

It typically takes coral 25 to 75 years to reach sexual maturity. With a new coral fragmentation method, it takes just 3.

Scientists and conservationists plan to plant 100,000 pieces of coral around the Florida Reef Tract by 2019 and millions more around the world in the years to come.

The news has not been encouraging as of late if you are one to pay attention to either climate change or The Great Barrier Reef: coral reefs are an incubator of the ocean's ecosystem. They account for less than 1% of the ocean and yet manage to provide food and shelter to over one quarter of all marine species in the ocean, as well as support fish that ultimately feed over one billion people. This is why it was distressing to note — in addition to the world losing Ruth Gates, a scientist renowned for her advocacy for saving coral reefs — that two thirds of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia — the largest living structure in the world — had in effect been killed off as of last year (a process called 'bleaching') by the rise in temperature brought about by global warming and climate change.

Panoramic view of the Great Barrier Reef

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Great-barrier-reef-2011_image_credit,_mike_mccoy.jpg

This is why it's worth noting and celebrating that Dr. David Vaughan of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida has found a way to make coral grow 40 times faster than coral currently does in the wild.

"He had been trying to remove a coral from the bottom of a tank when it broke into a dozen pieces. To his shock, all of the pieces regrew to the same size in just three short weeks, as opposed to the three years it had taken to grow the original coral."

More: https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060047556

Now, through a process of 'breaking up' the coral, Doctor Vaughan has seen the timeline shrink to three years ... results that will lead him to share the information with conservationists all around the world, with the hopes of planting 100,000 pieces of coral around the Florida Reef Tract by 2019 and millions more around the world in the years to come.

Planet Citizens in Action: Update: 2018, Leonardo DiCaprio

Reefscape

Satellite Doves to Aid Coral Conservation

Planet API

To gather a more comprehensive understanding of the condition of global reef ecosystems, we need a way to assess and monitor them on a large geographic scale.

The Reefscape project aims to improve our understanding of the condition of coral reefs worldwide, while simultaneously developing spectral libraries needed to advance the development of a new satellite mission.

New satellites, such as those from Planet (formerly Planet Labs), are, as of 2017, able to capture near-daily imagery of coral reefs worldwide. Planet’s high-resolution imagery of reef locations provides new imaging, science and understanding of the composition and extent of shallow, horizontally oriented reefs.

Chasing Coral

• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/chasing-coral-review-sundance-2017-967131

From GreenPolicy360's friends at the Bioneers with Leo DiCaprio ...

• https://www.greenpolicy360.net/w/File:Chasing_Coral.jpg

• https://youtu.be/b6fHA9R2cKI

🌎