Corals Collected Off Key West Transferred To UM Marine School To Keep Them Healthy
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - More than 400 corals collected from the Dry Tortugas National Park off Key West are being transferred to the University of Miami - Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science for safekeeping.
The coral rescue in the park is part of the Coral Rescue Project, a multi-agency effort that aims to collect healthy corals to keep them from being infected with the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. Andrew Baker, from UM, is leading the rescue.
"What this is, is essentially, a rescue effort to try to get to the corals in areas that have not yet seen the disease to try to take them off the reefs, preserve them in these land-based facilities until the disease passes through and becomes less of a threat," said Baker.
It's an infectious, waterborne disease that has significantly impacted approximately half of the hard coral species on Florida's Reef Tract. Collecting corals from Dry Tortugas National Park is crucial to the progress of the Coral Rescue Project because it is one of the few areas not yet affected by the disease.
"We've seen this disease move thru reefs and when it does it can kill 95-98 percent of the susceptible corals which can be very devastating to species that can't move around at all," said Maurizio Martinelli of Florida Sea Grant, a university-based research program.
The healthy corals were placed in tanks at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School and will be transported to Association of Zoos and Aquarium facilities nationwide. This will help prevent them from becoming infected, to preserve genetic diversity, and to serve as breeding stock for future restoration activities.
"You can think of these as broodstock, as parents that we will actually try to breed the next generation of corals from and possibly those offspring will be the ones we try to re-introduce back into the reefs," said Baker.
Located 70 miles west of Key West, Dry Tortugas National Park protects one of the most pristine and diverse portions of the 360 linear miles long Florida Reef Tract, which is North America's only barrier reef. The park is a popular recreation destination for snorkeling, diving, fishing, and boating.
"We are grateful that the park is able to participate in this coral rescue effort to ensure our corals are preserved for future generations," said Park Manager Glenn Simpson. "This effort would not be possible without the dedicated work of our partners."
