[Coral-List] What it means that Florida Aquarium reported captive reproduction of a Mycetophyllia.

Fri Apr 24 16:39:00 UTC 2020

I believe another aspect of breeding corals in captivity that is sometimes
overlooked, is not that these can be used to restock damaged/dying reefs in
the face of GCG but that in the likelihood that species begin to disappear
in the wild over the next 50 years or less, those that have been bred may
be able live on in land based collections thereby preserving species
diversity for perhaps a time in the future when they could be reintroduced
into the ocean. The concept of a coral ark is a long game vision, not just
a short game immediate restoration objective.

Best regards,

*J. Charles Delbeek, M.Sc.*Curator, Steinhart Aquarium
California Academy of Sciences

Desk: 415.379.5303
Fax: 415.379.5304

*cdelbeek at calacademy.org <cdelbeek at calacademy.org>*www.calacademy.org

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On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 7:10 AM William Precht via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Les,
>
> Brilliantly written piece.  You put it in a nutshell that is easily
> digestible to even the staunchest critic.
>
> Rich Aronson and I have often discussed how the solution to fixing reefs
> must done at multiple levels - local, regional and global. All three of
> these must happen simultaneously for these conservation efforts to work.
>
> However, I think the biggest criticism is that the 10,000 pound elephant in
> the room (GHG) is not being addressed - certainly not by the present
> administration in the US.  Therefore, no matter how much good and
> interesting science is being done regarding healing and restoration, if the
> third leg of the stool is not addressed (GHG) - reefs as we knew and know
> them don't stand a fighting chance.
>
> I, myself, believe that restoration is one of the areas we need to focus
> our research efforts.  So I applaud these efforts and praise their success,
> but I still hope that the future of reefs for my grandchildren will not be
> reliant on captive breeding programs in land-based aquarium and nursery
> facilities.
>
> Time is not on our side and GHG emissions are a relentless foe.
>
> Bill
>
> On Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 3:05 PM Kaufman, Leslie S via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> > Hi all.
> >
> > The Florida Aquarium recently reported another success in coral
> husbandry-
> > the captive reproduction of a Mycetophyllia species (lamarckiana).  The
> > headlines trumpet that this is a breakthrough in the fight to save coral
> > reefs.  In an offline discussion colleagues pointed out rightly that
> cactus
> > corals are not major reef-builders, and there Is some pushback on the
> media
> > reports for this reason. There is also a larger pushback on coral reef
> > restoration generally.  The argument goes that reef restoration is a
> fool’s
> > errand and a distraction from the battle to reduce GHGs.
> >
> > Righteous indignation over our failure to sufficiently reduce GHG
> > emissions is justified.
> >
> > Work to learn more about reproducing a wide variety of corals does not
> add
> > to or detract from the retooling of our economy to fight anthropogenic
> > climate change (or what’s left of the economy in the midst of the latest
> > pandemic caused by rainforest destruction).
> >
> > There is a tendency to emphasize healing over prevention, particularly
> for
> > climate change and coral reefs. This can be misleading.  That doesn’t
> mean
> > we should stop learning about healing reefs, or celebrating our little
> > successes.  The point is, they are little.  They are desperate.  They are
> > part of a last ditch emergency plan to put bits and pieces of coral reefs
> > on life support so something will still be there to rebuild reefs once
> this
> > becomes practical again.
> >
> > We do of course need to focus on carbon.  The drawdown is going to take
> > long enough that many coral reef species could undergo widespread
> > extirpations and even extinctions without life support interventions.
> GHG
> > drawdown and emergency life support measures are both important for coral
> > reef conservation.  Both are emergencies.  One is the cure, the other is
> > rescue and intensive care.
> >
> > Consider the forests. Future novel pandemics can be greatly reduced by
> > changing our relationship with tropical forests, many now down to
> miniscule
> > fragments- even the last great forests are deeply encroached, their edges
> > dangerously frayed.  First aid is to heal the rough edges, but what we
> > really must do is stop destroying these forests and learn how to
> accelerate
> > their regeneration.  Coral reefs are in similar straits and closely
> linked
> > to forests via the carbon cycle and climate change.  Here too, we must
> fix
> > the root cause but also ensure that something remains to be regenerated.
> >
> > Let us put fighting climate change and maintaining natural systems in a
> > common frame of reference.  Let us make both part of a larger strategy,
> > with all of our individual interventions united, in context.
> >
> > Les
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> > _______________________________________________
> > Coral-List mailing list
> > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>
>
> --
> William F. Precht
>
>  “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice
> you have”
>
> Bob Marley
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