Scientists breeding super coral to survive climate change

[mndfreeze]

Has anyone else seen this?  VICE short doc video on a group that is doing assisted evolution with coral.  Making them stronger and breeding them then trying to see the reef with their spawn.

 

 

 

 

[RayWhisperer]

Human stupidity at its finest. 

[Lypto]

It would be interesting if a group began to see what genetic markers are responsible for levels of stress response, and determine which sequences makes certain corals more resistant to bleaching. By modifying a coral virus to inject the sequence and modify certain kinds/populations of at risk species with the resistant markers, it would be possible to alter existing populations to endure a little more change. Something like that could also go really quite badly, as well as facing a great deal of challenges both legal and biological in nature. Still, I think it's worth considering to buy humanity a little more time to fix the larger issue. Breeding coral seems a little too slow if you plan to build diverse resistant reefs, but it's nice to see people working on it, and hopefully more information on the project continues to be available.

[mndfreeze]

Well this project is obviously still small and needs a lot of funding to be effective on a massive scale, but the idea behind it seems sound as one more way to help combat climate change effects on our oceans.  I think part of what they are doing does alter existing populations just generations down instead of chancing a virus in the current, already fragile ecosystem.

[1891Bro]

There’s too many factors at play to just inject and go. I would say relocation to artificial bases in more temp appropriate waters but, because of currents and tides and light cycles... 

 

It’s all too little too late. 

21 hours ago, RayWhisperer said:

Human stupidity at its finest. 

TLDR Ray pretty much summed it up. 

[1891Bro]

18 minutes ago, mndfreeze said:

Well this project is obviously still small and needs a lot of funding to be effective on a massive scale, but the idea behind it seems sound as one more way to help combat climate change effects on our oceans.  I think part of what they are doing does alter existing populations just generations down instead of chancing a virus in the current, already fragile ecosystem.

Give them one billion dollars (insert dr evil meme) and they’re still just hunting Bigfoot. 

[Lypto]

The best way to help with the situation is to make it profitable in the short turn as well as the long for the main polluters. It's all about money, and while research and work like this is the key to saving what we can, the larger issue must be addressed before the smaller projects can bear significant enough fruit. They're both nessecery. I sincerely hope it doesn't come down to making a coral bank, with representatives of different morphs and species being kept as a safeguard. A virus would only be effective for localized populations and specific species, and the amount of variance in a single species of coral is much to much to be effective enough, and yes there are an incalculable amount of factors that make it improbable. The rise in temperature will result in an interesting shift in locations and behaviors of species though, and if the damage is reversible the coral that remains is going to be a great deal stronger than it was before. By encouraging species to adapt in worse conditions than today, and mass seeding with fertilized eggs of those species, it would be possible to have a real impact. Especially if it's possible to encourage coral growth on a colder clime as well. Fisheries would benefit with the increased variance if colder places had more sea floor terrain variance.

 

perhaps editing a very successful skeleton based macroalgae to absorb pollutants and secret it away much like tree's do would be a good idea. 

[1891Bro]

17 minutes ago, Lypto said:

The best way to help with the situation is to make it profitable in the short turn as well as the long for the main polluters. It's all about money, and while research and work like this is the key to saving what we can, the larger issue must be addressed before the smaller projects can bear significant enough fruit. They're both nessecery. I sincerely hope it doesn't come down to making a coral bank, with representatives of different morphs and species being kept as a safeguard. A virus would only be effective for localized populations and specific species, and the amount of variance in a single species of coral is much to much to be effective enough, and yes there are an incalculable amount of factors that make it improbable. The rise in temperature will result in an interesting shift in locations and behaviors of species though, and if the damage is reversible the coral that remains is going to be a great deal stronger than it was before. By encouraging species to adapt in worse conditions than today, and mass seeding with fertilized eggs of those species, it would be possible to have a real impact. Especially if it's possible to encourage coral growth on a colder clime as well. Fisheries would benefit with the increased variance if colder places had more sea floor terrain variance.

 

perhaps editing a very successful skeleton based macroalgae to absorb pollutants and secret it away much like tree's do would be a good idea. 

Years of work and research that would’ve needed to have been started two decades ago. 

It’s just too damn late. 

Doomed!

[Lypto]

Why lie down and let it happen? Humanity is capable of amazing things, and I'd like to die with more beauty and diversity in the world than when I came into it.  We figured out how to keep these things alive in glass boxes for years, miles upon miles from their starting place. Why not help keep them alive where they started?

[mndfreeze]

I think its pretty apparent this isn't meant to be a final solution, only one of the many prongs in the attack.   Obviously all the other issues and causes of climate change need to be addressed, but can any of you actually agree that we as a species are making fast enough headway on that problem?  IMO we are to slow to act on that stuff so at least this is a little bit extra to help in some way, even if it is small scale it could be the difference between no coral or some coral in 50 years times.

 

[1891Bro]

1 hour ago, Lypto said:

Why lie down and let it happen? Humanity is capable of amazing things, and I'd like to die with more beauty and diversity in the world than when I came into it.  We figured out how to keep these things alive in glass boxes for years, miles upon miles from their starting place. Why not help keep them alive where they started?

It’s not about lying down now. It’s about all the years lying down way before now. Just think realistically. 

 

1 hour ago, mndfreeze said:

I think its pretty apparent this isn't meant to be a final solution, only one of the many prongs in the attack.   Obviously all the other issues and causes of climate change need to be addressed, but can any of you actually agree that we as a species are making fast enough headway on that problem?  IMO we are to slow to act on that stuff so at least this is a little bit extra to help in some way, even if it is small scale it could be the difference between no coral or some coral in 50 years times.

 

Between aquaculture and public aquariums it’s not impossible to bring it back. Reseed where the conditions are right. I just don’t see being able to turn around everything we’ve ####ed up since the industrial revolution in a short enough amount of time. 

[BrentSA]

Interesting read , wish I saw it sooner . Me personally , id rather go down fighting and I try to hope that eventually enough people will work together too really make a difference .