<
https://theconversation.com/accelerated-evolution-and-automated-aquaculture-could-help-coral-weather-the-heat-209388>
"Coral on the Great Barrier Reef has regrown strongly after the big losses of
2016 and 2017, when water temperatures were significantly above the long-term
average. While this is good news, it’s largely luck. The reef experienced mass
bleaching in 2020 and 2022, but temperatures cooled just in time to prevent
extensive coral deaths.
But the reef’s luck may be about to run out. Hotter El Niño conditions are
returning to the Pacific, driving warmer ocean temperatures. The past few
months have seen global temperature records smashed. Already, reefs in Florida,
the Caribbean and parts of the Pacific are bleaching. The looming southern
summer is a significant concern.
Can anything be done? Keeping emissions under control is obviously vital. But
we can also support the Great Barrier Reef’s resilience by speeding up natural
adaptation processes.
In our paper published today in
Science, we describe methods of accelerating
the natural evolution of heat-tolerant corals, next-generation aquaculture to
rear large numbers of baby corals, and collaborative decision-making with First
Nations groups to place these corals onto the Great Barrier Reef at meaningful
scale."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
