Scientists Race to Save Florida Coral Reef from Mysterious Disease

Dead coral sit on the ocean bed in the Straits of Florida near Key Largo, Florida, on September 23, 2021, as the reef has been suffering from a mysterious disease first discovered in 2014 CHANDAN KHANNA AFP
Dead coral sit on the ocean bed in the Straits of Florida near Key Largo, Florida, on September 23, 2021, as the reef has been suffering from a mysterious disease first discovered in 2014 CHANDAN KHANNA AFP
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Scientists Race to Save Florida Coral Reef from Mysterious Disease

Dead coral sit on the ocean bed in the Straits of Florida near Key Largo, Florida, on September 23, 2021, as the reef has been suffering from a mysterious disease first discovered in 2014 CHANDAN KHANNA AFP
Dead coral sit on the ocean bed in the Straits of Florida near Key Largo, Florida, on September 23, 2021, as the reef has been suffering from a mysterious disease first discovered in 2014 CHANDAN KHANNA AFP

At a laboratory in central Florida, biologist Aaron Gavin uses tiny pipettes to carefully feed shrimp to more than 700 corals living in huge saltwater tanks, with sunlight-mimicking lamps glowing above them.

The work of the scientists here could be the last chance to save the species that make up the only coral reef in the United States' continental waters, said AFP.

Gavin and his team have diligently recreated the coral reef habitat found in the waters off the southern tip of the state, complete with artificial currents and local fish.

They hope to prevent the 18 species of coral in their care from suffering the same mysterious ailment, called SCTLD (stony coral tissue loss disease), that is afflicting their wild cousins.

Among the sprawling mangroves and darting schools of fish off the Florida Keys, the damaged corals -- normally dark -- now appear as large white patches on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

The situation is the same all along the Florida Reef Tract, which stretches 360 miles (580 kilometers) from the Dry Tortugas, which are the westernmost islands in the Florida Keys, all the way to the town of St Lucie, located about 120 miles north of Miami.

"It's heartbreaking, and I think the most alarming (thing) about it is that most people don't know it's happening," said Michelle Ashton, the communications director of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.

- Rescue -
What Gavin and his colleagues discover at the Florida Coral Rescue Center could change the future of the state's marine ecosystems.

"We are holding the corals safely and healthy in our care," explained Justin Zimmerman, the director of the Orlando-based lab, which opened in 2020 and is managed by aquatic theme park company SeaWorld.

"If they were still in the wild, up to 90 percent of them would have been dead," Zimmerman said.

The potentially catastrophic SCTLD was first discovered in 2014, near Miami, and has continued to spread rapidly, killing about half of stony coral species, a cornerstone of marine biodiversity.

The disease, whose causes are unknown, is now plaguing the animals further into the Caribbean, all the way in Mexico and Belize.

The rescue lab's work is part of a project created in 2018 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and includes dozens of public and private organizations.

The group, faced with the threat of more than 20 of the 45 species of hard corals in the area going extinct, devised the unprecedented plan to extract healthy corals from the region's waters and care for them in these artificially equipped aquariums in the hope they can be returned to their wild habitats in the future.

"You are looking at the future of Florida Reef Tract in this room," Aston said of the corals in the Orlando aquariums. "And their grandchildren will be what goes back out to the water."

- Return to the sea –
The first part of the rescue plan has allowed wildlife authorities to save nearly 2,000 colonies of corals, now stored at more than 20 institutions in 14 different states.

The second part of the plan requires researchers to successfully return the corals to the ocean -- though such an operation would likely take place a long time from now, as corals reproduce very slowly.

The scientists are studying the genetics of the rescued animals in an effort to cultivate new specimens that could be more resistant to disease, as well as other threats such as warming water temperatures and pollution.

The success or failure of these endeavors could have huge consequences for the region.

Stony corals, made up of limestone skeletons, are what create coral reefs, which in turn provide a home for a quarter of marine life.

Plus, the structures are natural barriers between the open ocean and land, reducing the strength of waves that hit the coastline, especially during hurricanes and other storms.

And a hit to coral health could mean a hit to Florida tourism revenue, as one study estimated that visitors drawn to the state for fishing and diving along the reef generate $8.5 billion.

Key Largo resident Steve Campbell, 59, is worried about what comes next. He is sitting next to the small tourist boat he captains, currently anchored in the port.

He said the coral disease has already had an impact on his business.

"I've been in the Florida Keys now for 20 years, and I'm out on the water every day," he said.

"Obviously we make our living out here, so we take people out to the reef for the enjoyment of seeing the reef."

"So for us it's extremely important."



Storm Dumps Record Rain in Northern California, While US Northeast Deals with Winter Storms

A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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Storm Dumps Record Rain in Northern California, While US Northeast Deals with Winter Storms

A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A pedestrian walks along a flooded street during a storm Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Santa Rosa, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A major storm dropped more snow and record rain in California, causing small landslides and flooding some streets, while on the opposite side of the country blizzard or winter storm warnings were in effect Saturday for areas spanning from the Northeast to central Appalachia.
The storm on the West Coast arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before its strong winds moved through Northern California, The Associated Press reported.
Santa Rosa, California, saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 12.5 inches (32 centimeters) of rain falling by Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area.
Flooding closed part of scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in Mendocino County and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation.
On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow and high winds making travel treacherous.
As residents in the Seattle area headed into the weekend, more than 112,000 people were still without power from this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land. Crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris, while cities opened warming centers so people heading into their fourth day without power could get warm food and plug in their cellphones and other devices.
Gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect across parts of Northern California and Oregon. There were winter storm warnings for parts of the California Cascades and the Sierra Nevada.
Forecasters predicted that both coasts would begin to see a reprieve from the storms as the system in the northeast moves into eastern Canada and the one in the West heads south.
By Friday night, some relief was already being seen in California, where the sheriff’s office in Humboldt County downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding.
The system roared ashore on the West Coast on Tuesday as a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.
Debra Campbell said she was sitting in the dark with a flashlight that night, unable to sleep as strong winds lashed her house in Crescent City, California. With a massive boom, a 150-foot (46-meter) tree came crashing down on her home and car.
“It was just so incredibly frightening,” AP quoted Campbell as saying. “Once I realized it wasn’t going to come through the ceiling where I was at, I was able to grab my car keys and my purse. ... And I open the front door and it’s just solid tree.”
In the Northeast, which has been hit by drought, more than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.
Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that has seen an exceptionally dry fall.
“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York.
Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a raft of school closures. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 85,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, and the state transportation department imposed speed restrictions on some highways.