MOODY GARDENS® BIOLOGIST HELPS CONSERVE THREATENED CORAL SPECIES
Galveston, Texas … Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) is a threatened species. The first coral to be listed on the federal government’s Endangered Species Act, it is an essential component for existing and future coral reefs. Without this species, a reef-builder, coral reefs and their inhabitants may well be lost. Coral reefs provide natural storm barriers for coastlines, are a potential source for novel pharmaceuticals, and support almost 85% of the economies of their nearby communities through tourism. Recently, a group of biologists embarked on one of the greatest coral conservation effort ever undertaken to help save the elkhorn coral. Among them was Barrett Christie, a biologist at Moody Gardens® Aquarium Pyramid.
The group of 20 U.S. and European scientists traveled to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico on August 9. The eight-day workshop was organized through SECORE (SExual COral REproduction), an international conservation initiative founded in 2001 at the Rotterdam Zoo.
While there, Christie and the other participants worked 20-hour days in the water and in the laboratory. They had the opportunity to learn captive coral sexual reproduction techniques, preserve eklhorn coral larva for future use in research and provide specimens of elkhorn coral to several aquarium facilities to determine optimum captive husbandry.
The group collected nearly 5 million larvae. Christie returned to Galveston with 32,000 larvae. “Essentially, this group is dividing up the newly settled colonies and each of the 15 facilities will attempt to keep them alive under many different conditions,” said Greg Whittaker, animal husbandry manager at Moody Gardens®. “At the end of the year, we’ll all compare notes and see who had success in keeping the corals and what conditions seem to be most important.” Specimens from Christie’s trip are on display in the coral garden at the aquarium.
The workshop coincided with one of many Caribbean coral spawning events triggered by the lunar cycles in the late summer months. There will be a similar coral reef spawning much closer to Galveston when the Flower Gardens Banks National Marine Sanctuary, 100 miles south of Galveston, experiences its mass spawning between September 13th and 16th.
For more information, call Moody Gardens® at 800-582-4673 or visit www.moodygardens.org.
Moody Gardens® is a public, non-profit, educational destination utilizing nature in the advancement of rehabilitation, conservation, recreation, and research.
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