Some algae might have superpowers.

There's a really cool research experiment going on at University of Miami in the USA.

Basically, coral reefs are in a crisis. But (aha!), there is hope. A Dr. Andrew Baker from the University of Miami discovered that corals that have survived some of the ocean's hottest temperatures contain a unique algae called symbiont D.

Baker's amazing experiment involves injecting this algae into some corals and then observing them under a microscope to see what happens to the algae.

Here's my favorite part of the article:

"...I think the thing that pushed me over the edge was that we are in crisis mode. We're losing corals left, right and center. Unless we do something very fast, it's going to be a moot point whether or not we should have tried something because there aren't going to be any corals left to do it with."

I think he hit the nail right on the head with that. :)

And cool - it looks like Dr. Andrew Baker was awarded the "prestigious 2008 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation to help protect reef corals from climate change" (there's a picture of him on the article too, if anyone wants to know what a marine biologist looks like).

I do have mixed feelings for the project though. What other effects would the algae have on the coral and the surrounding ocean? Introducing it to corals around the world may not be a great idea if it throws off the balance of the ecosystem, right? There might have been other reasons to why this algae can't be naturally found among some coral (unless its just because of distribution - which would then go back to my first concern about ecosystem balance...).

In any case, even if this experiment turns out to be a success, I don't think that the battle for the coral reefs would be over. There's still a lot to do and a long way to go. We're not off the hook for endangering one of Earth's most amazing ecosystems yet.

Anyway, here's another article from the New York Times about Dr. Baker's research. In this though, they credit him from the Marine Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society. It goes into a little more detail then the other article.

Neat, huh?

posted by Sage @ 8/26/2008 06:36:00 PM Comments: 0