[Coral-List] Fwd: exotic or invasive? introduction of Caribbean acroporiids to the pacific

Kristen Marhaver kristenmarhaver at gmail.com
Thu Dec 20 17:03:15 UTC 2018


Dear Vassil and Listers,

For a bit of context, the work Vassil referenced was the successful use of
cryopreserved sperm to breed east and west Caribbean populations of *A.
palmata* for the first time. Thankfully, they can interbreed, so we're
dealing with only one endangered species and not two. Details are available
here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/12/10/492447

Conducting assisted gene flow within *A. palmata*'s current range is quite
a different proposition than moving *A. palmata* to the Pacific. Last week,
panelists at Reef Futures considered the idea of moving coral species from
one ocean to another, and the consensus was that no one's keen to do that
anytime soon.

Respectfully,
Kristen Marhaver



--
Kristen Marhaver, Ph.D.
The Marhaver Lab at CARMABI
@CoralSci <https://twitter.com/coralsci> | www.marhaverlab.com | TED Talks
<https://www.ted.com/speakers/kristen_marhaver>

--


On Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 11:09 AM Vassil Zlatarski via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Trust of interest:
>
> "To Help Corals Fight Back, Scientists Are Breeding Populations Separated
> by Hundreds of Miles.
>
> A new study demonstrates that assisted reproduction using cryopreserved
> sperm leads to offspring that might be more resilient in the face of
> climate change."
>
>
> https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/to-help-corals-fight-back-scientists-breed-populations-separated-hundreds-miles-180971064/#GXqOEmCtXMqJWcTk.99
>
> Cheers,
>
> Vassil
>
> Vassil Zlatarski
> D.Sc. (Biology), Ph.D. (Geology)
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 3:41 PM Douglas Fenner via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> >      Although the Eastern Pacific currently has no *Acropora*, the
> > Indo-Pacific has at least 165 species, compared to the Caribbean's 2
> > species and one hybrid.  The Caribbean and Eastern Pacific have been
> > completely separated since the Panama land bridge arose, I think that was
> > about 2.5 million years ago.  All of the zooxanthellate coral species
> > currently living in the Eastern Pacific naturally are from the
> > Indo-Pacific, none are from the Caribbean, except a half dozen or so
> > colonies of *Siderastrea siderea* that were introduced into Pacific
> Panama
> > as pieces of skeleton for experiments, and weren't expected to survive
> and
> > grow . They are now in aquaria, I believe.  The Caribbean and
> Indo-Pacific
> > also share no natural zooxanthellate coral species (a few mushroom
> > corals (*Fungia
> > scutaria*) were taken from the Indo-Pacific to the Discovery Bay,
> Jamaica,
> > lab and kept in aquaria.  At some point, unnamed person(s) placed some of
> > those on the reef there, and decades later they were found and recovered,
> > they appeared not to have reproduced.)
> >        Moving species between oceans is not advisable, it is introducing
> > species which may become invasive, like the Indo-Pacific lionfish that
> were
> > introduced into Florida waters and which have spread throughout the
> > tropical western Atlantic and are having huge negative effects on the
> > ecosystems there.  For corals, my initial thought is that the greater
> risk
> > is introducing coral diseases from one ocean into another.  The tropical
> > western Atlantic including Florida and the Caribbean has had and
> continues
> > to have, huge damage to coral populations from diseases.  The coral
> > diseases in the western tropical Atlantic appear to be different from
> those
> > in the Indo-Pacific.  Introducing any corals from the Caribbean into the
> > eastern Pacific carries the risk of introducing lethal diseases into the
> > Indo-Pacific that could cause untold damage to corals there.  White band
> > disease, last I knew, was the primary cause for the huge decline of the
> two
> > *Acropora* species in the tropical western Atlantic.  Although there is
> > white disease in *Acropora* in the Indo-Pacific, that probably is not the
> > same disease as white band in the Caribbean, and *Acropora* in the
> > Indo-Pacific have not been damaged by disease anything like the
> *Acropora*
> > in the western tropical Atlantic.  Please DO NOT move any corals from one
> > ocean to the other, in either direction, nor any other organisms.  We
> have
> > enough trouble with introduced invasive species as it is.  That certainly
> > includes anyone releasing any corals from an aquarium into an ocean that
> > they didn't come from.  Don't even move them more than a matter of meters
> > within an ocean, certainly not from one island or reef to the next
> without
> > a lot of very careful and extensive consideration (as Vassil suggested)
> by
> > all stakeholders and government approval.  Predators (such as snails),
> > parasites, commensals, and certainly other parts of the holobiont can all
> > easily be transported that way and any could become invasive and cause
> > havoc.  It is nearly 100% certain that if you move a coral, all parts of
> > the holobiont will come with the coral host, so many kinds of bacteria,
> > viruses, etc.  Once they have been introduced, it is at present near
> > impossible to get rid of them (see "lionfish").  When in doubt, error on
> > the precautionary side and don't move anything more than a few meters,
> > including "live rock".  "Live rock" is honeycombed with holes full of a
> > wide variety of organisms, not to mention that virtually any surfaces in
> > ocean water are covered with microbial films.  Don't even move water
> > between oceans, ocean water is full of microbes like bacteria and
> viruses,
> > in addition to various plankton.  Mind you, ships do this on a daily
> basis
> > with large volumes of sea water as they take in ballast water one place
> and
> > release it another place.  Ships have moved and introduced species many
> > times and caused a myriad of problems with introduced species.
> >        As much as the Caribbean and Florida Acropora have declined, there
> > are still millions of colonies alive.  They are not in danger of
> immediate
> > extinction.  Efforts to stop their decline and hopefully help their
> > recovery can be and are being carried out in the Caribbean and Florida
> > without moving any into the Pacific.
> >        Sorry to be a wet towel, but this is important.  Absolutely no
> > offense intended, all suggestions were just innocent suggestions.
> >  Cheers, Doug
> >
> > On Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 5:41 AM Vassil Zlatarski via Coral-List <
> > coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> >
> > > Indeed, very interesting.  Nevertheless, any action requires very
> serious
> > > scientific preparation and professional responsibility.
> > >
> > > A joyful Holiday Season!
> > >
> > > Vassil
> > >
> > > Vassil Zlatarski
> > > D.Sc (Biology), Ph.D. (Geology)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> > > From: Bill Raymond via Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
> > > Date: Mon, Dec 17, 2018 at 7:35 PM
> > > Subject: Re: [Coral-List] exotic or invasive? introduction of Caribbean
> > > acroporiids to the pacific
> > > To: <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov>, Damien Beri <beridl at g.cofc.edu>
> > >
> > >
> > >  Very interesting! I hope you get some answers, and I hope you get the
> > > chance to find out for yourself. Bravo.
> > >     On Monday, December 17, 2018, 4:17:10 PM EST, Damien Beri via
> > > Coral-List <coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
> > >
> > >  Hello coral listers,
> > >
> > > I have a question on what might happen if one was to introduce
> Caribbean
> > > Elkhorn and Staghorn coral back into the Pacific?
> > >
> > > It is my understanding an ancestor of the two produced pelagic larvae,
> > > containing zooxanthellae and stored nutrients to make a rare oceanic
> > > crossing. A majority of Caribbean corals reproduce this way I believe.
> > >
> > >
> > > I ask this hypothetical question on the basis of curiosity, and
> > extinction
> > > prevention. Re-introduction of species will probably be a more suitable
> > > topic 50 years down the road.
> > >
> > > Warm regards,
> > > Damien Beri
> > >
> > > -Masters In Marine Conservation and Policy
> > > Stony Brook University
> > >
> > > -Regulatory Compliance Intern
> > > Billion Oyster Project
> > >
> > > -Founder
> > > Reefined Arts Coral Restoration
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
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> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Douglas Fenner
> > Ocean Associates, Inc. Contractor
> > NOAA Fisheries Service
> > Pacific Islands Regional Office
> > Honolulu
> > and:
> > Consultant
> > PO Box 7390
> > Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
> >
> > Global warming will happen faster than we think.
> >
> > https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07586-5
> >
> > Nations falling short of emissions cuts set by Paris climate pact,
> analysis
> > finds
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/nations-falling-short-emissions-cuts-set-paris-climate-pact-analysis-finds?utm_campaign=news_daily_2018-11-28&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2515903
> >
> > Climate change poses major threat to the US, new government report
> > concludes
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/climate-change-poses-major-threat-us-new-government-report-concludes?utm_campaign=news_daily_2018-11-26&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2511504
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
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