[Coral-List] Another Approach

Thu Aug 24 11:57:51 UTC 2023

Thanks Damien,
 Aquarium Keeping with a Purpose would have lots of issues for sure, but
why not try since the alternative seems to be a death spiral with lots of
high tech documentation to guide so-called management. Years ago, Clive
Wilkinson advocated managing people, not reefs.......
Mixing microbiomes, zoox clades, and a host of other issues can be resolved
as well as providing MORE FUNDING for labs along the way.
It will take acceptance of the Aquarium Community in a collaborative
approach based on facts/ science rather than politics and the tourist
economy.
I'm wondering out loud if there is anyone willing to take on such a
Herculean task?
Perhaps MAC could play a role?
P

  .

On Wed, Aug 23, 2023 at 11:50 PM Damien Beri <damienberi at gmail.com> wrote:

> That’s a great idea Phil and one many think about. Possibly an application
> process aquarists can apply for to demonstrate capacity and capability
> which would allow them to purchase these corals. Additionally, aquariums
> provide a sort of bottleneck for resilient genotypes capable of dealing
> with stress better. You also target more “fluorescent” color varieties
> which can deflect light and heat more efficiently. Notice how GFP (green
> corals) are the most dominant color variety in aquariums because they
> survive the most. Reefers are always trying to get more non-green colored
> corals because they end up having so much green coral.
>
>
> Let’s also not forget that a majority of the “science” based coral
> nursery/aquariums currently use technology and equipment designed by, and
> fine tuned by, the aquarium trade. That’s not to say it doesn’t work both
> ways however.
>
> I remember walking into a “state-of-the-art” coral nursery in Hawaii and
> seeing that it was ran by the same equipment I used to sell to hobbyists in
> New York (I.e., ecotech lighting) and Neptune Apex Control Sytems. The
> facility was no larger than our New York Based shop (but probably costed 3x
> more $ to operate) In fact, when working at Manhattan Aquariums we were one
> of the first companies ever to implement the Neptune Apex controllers in
> combination with Trident ICP-OES auto dosing machines to create enriched
> seawater to grow corals faster and more colorful.
>
> I’m also pretty sure that the simple use of cyanoacrylate glued to mount
> Frags onto ceramic coral plugs was developed by aquarists as well. Could be
> wrong on that though.
>
> Here is the MAJOR CON:  disease… mixing corals like this into reef tanks
> will inevitably spawn unique coral microbiomes and based on how little/much
> we know of the coral microbiomes this would be a concern.
>
> But hey, there’s a conservation market to be tapped into. “Reefers” (coral
> hobbyists) would gladly pay $$$$$$ for coral fragments which could be in
> turn used to conserve areas of the ocean or further propagate corals.
>
> With Humility & Respect,
> Damien Lord Beri
>
> E: DamienBeri at gmail.com
> E2: DamienBeri at thecoralconservancy.org
>
> C: +1 (917) 543-2164
>
> Owner: The Waikiki Aquarium Service LLC
>
> President: The Coral Conservancy 501(c)(3)
>
> B.S. Biology, The College Of Charleston
>
> M.A. Marine Conservation & Policy, Stony Brook University
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Aug 23, 2023, at 8:25 AM, Phillip Dustan via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> Greetings Listers,
> Dr. Katie Muzak recently alerted me to a Washington Post article about
> ongoing attempts to prevent the extinction of the endemic akikiki bird on
> Maui which is facing loss of habitat and mosquitos. Then came the fires on
> Maui which threatened the very human sanctuaries that had been built for
> the bird.
> A similar process is playing out with corals around the world,
> especially . in Florida.  While we may not like the idea, zoos are
> becoming extinction sanctuaries, not just prison camps for animals. But
> these efforts are not nearly enough. As daunting a challenge as it is, I
> would like to call your attention to a seemingly untapped resource we
> "people of science" seem to discount and that is the thousands of reef
> aquarists that routinely keep corals alive in captivity. In fact, they have
> turned it into a multimillion dollar global industry, even
> manufacturing their own seawater!  FYI, aquarium keeping  is one of the
> largest hoppies on the planet.
>  The distributed nature of the "hobby" combined with the expertise of the
> aquarists suggests to me that a very large network could be created to care
> for and propagate Caribbean corals, similar to what is now occurring with
> Indo-Pacific species. Their skills are amazing and by creating a large
> distributed network they could establish metapopulations that would be far
> less prone to extinction than the few facilities now in operation.
> Aquarists in countries throughout the Caribbean could collaborate with
> their government and university agencies to establish metapopulations
> within metapopulations throughout the region.
> I would bet that Aquarists, who have developed the knowledge and have the
> enthusiasm, would be enthusiastic  to help prevent the extinction of the
> Caribbean reef corals. For sure, it would take some changes in existing
> regulations and some change in attitudes, but  I'll bet the salt water
> aquarium community would welcome the opportunity to participate. A few
> highly controlled "Noah's Arks" cannot compare to the resilience provided
> by having hundreds, if not thousands of reef aquaria.
> I think it is time to think a little out-of-the-box and entrust the future
> of reefs to more than "science", restoration, management and government
> regulations.
> Just imagine the possibilities!
> Phil
> --
>
>
>
> Phillip Dustan PhD
> Charleston SC  29424
> 843-953-8086 office
> 843-224-3321 (mobile)
>
> "When we try to pick out anything by itself
> we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
> that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
> *                                         John Muir 1869*
>
> *A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
> *Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
> *Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*
>
> *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
> TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
> Google Scholar Citations:
> https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ
> _______________________________________________
> Coral-List mailing list
> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> https://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>
>

-- 

Phillip Dustan PhD
Charleston SC  29424
843-953-8086 office
843-224-3321 (mobile)

"When we try to pick out anything by itself
we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords
that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe. "
*                                         John Muir 1869*

*A Swim Through TIme on Carysfort Reef*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCPJE7UE6sA
*Raja Ampat Sustainability Project video*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RR2SazW_VY&fbclid=IwAR09oZkEk8wQkK6LN3XzVGPgAWSujACyUfe2Ist__nYxRRSkDE_jAYqkJ7A
*Bali Coral Bleaching 2016 video*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOfLTnPSUo>*
TEDx Charleston on saving coral reefs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwENBNrfKj4
Google Scholar Citations:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HCwfXZ0AAAAJ