Can Coral Engineering save us all?
Or Are we f*****?
I am worried about the bleaching of coral reefs all around the world and if you are a responsible human being you might be worried as well. Global warming related natural disasters got us all feeling like sitting ducks right now. All eyes have been on coral bleaching around the world for some time. Being an optimistic person, I am hoping to read some article in the future, in which smart scientists and professors have made the headlines on how they have saved us all from the doom of a coral less future. Other wise we are all f*****, heading towards a certain doom in which all the corals of the world will peril and a future in which we have no beautiful oceans. Many people do not understand the true value of the coral reefs in the oceans. The way mother nature has chosen to save us all through these visually appealing beautiful creatures has amazed scientists for centuries. I am worried about our precious corals and I hope you are worried too.
How this effects us all
Animals going extinct because of climate change or some other external factor isn't anything new. It has been happening for centuries and although concerned people may be troubled by the fate of nearly extinct animals, they can push their worries to the side with a certain belief that such horrors do not directly effect mankind. But what if the extinction of one animal causes great devastations and tragedies in the future. What if that animal is something that balances the oceans and the ecosystems of millions of other species all around the world. Why shouldn’t we concern ourselves with the fate of such a being that has protected other species including us for thousands of years. You heard that right, many corals are as much as 5000 years old. It has been on the planet for 400 million years and has been the home of other species for many thousands of years. Suddenly, all these corals that have managed to survive for all this time are getting bleached. They are dying !!!
How are the corals protecting the oceans
Coral reefs have protected us for centuries. It reduces the impact of large wave and buffers shorelines against waves and violent storm. Without corals storm waves can cause more damage to coastline properties and will take more lives. Corals also protect our beaches from erosion since it reduces the energy of the waves. Beaches without coral reefs protecting them erode away at least ten times faster and cause severe and major damages during cyclones and storms. Coral reefs have been found to reduce wave energy by at least 97 percent. Their rough surfaces and complex structures dissipate the force of the incoming waves. Coral reefs provide a home and a source for food for millions of underwater species around the world. When the coral reefs dies or disappears the native species depending on it will also decline and die. Millions of species of fish, crab, lobsters, shell fish, star fish , squid, sponges, sea horse, sea turtles and even sharks have called these ancient structures their sweet home for centuries. We have all seen what happens when animals have lost their homes in the past. Such animals can become vulnerable to predators. They can lose their source of food and can die not being able to adjust with their newly found state of homelessness. Such animals have adapted to living on, in or under corals and can never survive without them.
Reef sharks are nearly threatened species and are already considered functionally extinct in many places. Many species of sharks uses the reefs as their breeding ground. Such animals, which are already on the decline will not be able to adjust to surviving without corals.
Many of the famous white beaches we would all just love to visit is just parrot fish poop. Parrot fish bites algae and rocks off dead corals, grind off the inedible calcium carbonate reef material and excrete it as sand. Not just them, many animals and fish have their entire world depending on the corals and have already declined in numbers with the bleaching of the corals. The devastating effect of a coral less future also means that countries and economies that depend on corals would also die. I am talking about 70,000 jobs that depend on reef tourism in the US alone. Did I forget to mention that many of the commercially important fish like grouper, snapper and lobster rely on coral reefs for food and shelter?
What is causing coral devastations
Tale as old as time. These are the same old things that are also responsible for wiping out and endangering millions of species around the world. Pollution, sedimentation, oil and chemical spills, marine debris, nutrient pollution from fertilizers and sewage, ocean acidification, vessel groundings, diseases and the most prevalent of all rising sea temperatures. It is the increasing temperatures in the oceans and the seas that is mostly responsible. Rising temperatures stresses coral polyps to release the microscopic algae called zooxanthellae, that gives them their bright and vibrant colors. Zooxanthellae has a symbiotic relationship with the coral. The algae lives within the coral polyps to use sunlight for energy and provides the corals food by capturing and digesting prey. Without this algae the corals bleach and turn white. The worst part is, the corals cannot survive without this algae as the algae is the sole provider of food for the corals.
Coral engineering solutions
Ok, so let’s cut to the chase. Let’s find out if coral engineering can be the real solution to this problem. After all, thinking about near future disasters can be disheartening, horrifying, exhausting and a fear driven approach that can cause anxiety. This type of thinking is counter intuitive to what America’s billion dollar self help industry has shoved down our throats. We have been told to think of the positive. Positive thinking will manifest positive reality according to many writers, life coaches and gurus. Like many, I am also guilty of believing in this illogical assumption. So will coral engineering actually save us. The answer is probablyish??
The truth is it is a subject that still requires a lot of researching. According to Van Oppen labs at the University of Melbourne a scientific solution needs to happen really fast. After watching the Great Barrier Reef get battered by marine heat waves. Australian researchists are trying to tackle this with coral engineering. Van Oppen is now trying to create breeds of corals that can survive heat waves. Australia has committed a hefty $300 million into coral research and restoration. Reef scientists all over the world have been flocking to Australia to contribute and become a part of this. They have created something called a National Sea Simulator, a $25 million facility that simulates the sea. Here in water tanks, the conditions are matched exactly to that of the Ocean and the Seas. This is where scientists do their research and experiment if the biologically engineered corals will be able to make it. Corals are being re-engineered with all the latest gene editing tools. Many scientists are sensing some promising future solutions. 1.). Cross-breeding amongst corals can create hybrids that thrive in warmer seas. Researchers are bringing up the offspring of corals to see if they adapt and manipulate their genes to survive in warmer waters. 2.). Scientists are exploring genetic engineering of coral bacteria that can prevent the bleaching of corals. This microbiome will be designed to adopt to the new environment. 3.). Researchers are altering the algae’s DNA that gets released in rising temperatures and causes the bleaching. They are positive that they can alter the genetics of corals and the microbes that live in it. A term created for this has been called ‘assisted evolution’. But there are six thousand species of corals around the world and they house many hundreds of kinds of symbiotic algae that scientists are still identifying and studying. So we still have a long way to go.
Although the positive attitudes of the scientists have provided us with some relief yet nothing extraordinary has happened yet. Good things are yet to come. Perhaps our irresponsible positive thinking could become a key to the greatest ‘assisted evolution’ to happen on planet earth. The truth is anxiety leads nowhere but positive thinking could lead somewhere. So let’s just hope for the positive. Fingers crossed, more resilient corals will occupy the oceans and our hearts forever. As John Lennon famously said, “Everything will be okay in the end, if it’s not okay, it’s not the end”. Hoping for some really good news.
Samanja
