Gee..I wonder how we could use this...

[SShindell]

Posted on Wed, Jul. 20, 2005

Scientists speed coral growth BY SAM KEAN St. Louis Post-Dispatch ST. LOUIS - (KRT) - The key to saving coral, a crucial oceanic species, just might have sprung from the muddy banks of the Mississippi. By exposing embryonic coral cells to concentrated salt water, researchers at St. Louis' World Aquarium have been able to accelerate the growth of this notoriously sluggish species. "With this rate of growth, we think coral-reef growth can be dramatically altered across the planet," said Leonard Sonnenschein, president of and a researcher at the World Aquarium. He first successfully applied this technique to clams, clown-fish and shrimp. Philippe Cousteau, president of the environmental advocacy group EarthEcho International, said growing coral in captivity is "very cutting-edge stuff ... there are only a few people doing it." Coral reefs, including Australia's noted Great Barrier Reef, sustain much of the world's tropical-sea ecology. Reefs not only house a third of all marine species, but also anchor soil to prevent underwater erosion and produce algae that form the base of oceanic food pyramids. Coastal development, increased pollution in rivers that empty into oceans and commercial activities such as fishing and snorkeling have endangered more than three-fourths of the world's coral reefs, ecologists estimate. This has spurred world-wide efforts to preserve them. Or better, regrow them, which is where Sonnenschein's patented process steps in. First, he submerges coral stem cells in a plastic bag with concentrated salt water, which he compares to a slap in the cellular face. The salinity is not much greater than that of sea water - about the amount of salt added to a margarita. But to cells, this extra pinch is a nasty shock. To counteract it, they go into overdrive. It's similar to blood rushing to someone's face after the unpleasant stimulus of a slap. The innovation is what happens next. When the coral cells are placed in a tank of normal sea water, instead of relaxing, they retain high metabolic activity as they mature. Sonnenschein compares this to a series of light pats on the cheek, to keep the color up. Research intern Elizabeth Smith pointed out that the treated coral, underneath the hermit crabs and snails that scour and clean them, burgeon and bloom more fully than untreated counterparts. Ideally, scientists will nurse the coral - which come in three styles: hard, soft and "leather" - in the lab before transferring them to existing reefs. David Vaughan, executive director of coral reef research for Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida, said any rehabilitation projects would occur in three steps. First, scientists must form a "gene bank" for endangered coral. "It's like how a zoo is a bank for threatened species," he said. Next, scientists would propagate the species in the lab. Some species of coral grow only a millimeter per year, and even quick sprouters add less than an inch. Vaughan said it's like a forest growing in slow motion. Sonnenschein's process could facilitate this phase. The third step, transferring the coral to living reefs, is the trickiest, Vaughan said. He noted that coral are sensitive to light conditions and water temperature, and that even in perfect environments coral compete with each other. "Even if a process works in the tank ... when that coral is out there in the field, there might be other components such as the toxins" that prevent the species from succeeding in the wild, he said. Corals can poison related species the same way that pine trees kill off plants unlucky enough to sprout beneath them. Cousteau echoed Vaughan's caveats. Although "very excited" about the results, "it is still to be proven on a mass scale." Before any potential field work begins, the World Aquarium researchers must finish analyzing current data and then optimize the technique for different species. Sonnenschein pointed out a natural experiment that parallels his work, indicating he may be on the right track. The Great Salt Lake in Utah, once part of a primeval ocean and now marooned inland, evaporates a little every year. As this happens, it grows saltier and saltier. Yet brine shrimp, for instance, "not only survive, they thrive" in this hypersaline environment, he said. Sonnenschein started a company, GroFish LLC, to help introduce his big, bulky crustaceans and fish into commercial fisheries. In addition, he and Vaughan have grown aqua fauna for commercial aquariums. He seems most excited, though, about coral. Interestingly, the growth induced by simple saltwater mimics that of externally applied hormones. Hormones can cause defects in developing organisms, such as tadpoles. "Can you tell the difference between a hormonal and a non-hormonal animal? The answer to that question is no," said Sonnenschein. "We don't believe in hormonal treatments," he said. Sodium chloride suffices. © 2005, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

[wildemon]

I believe it was Martin Moe who wrote about trying to reintroduce corals in the wild. They used dry cement in baggies to anchor the plugs [of course they had concrete once in ocean water]. Technique like sodding a lawn with plugs. Took forever with scuba gear, wore them out, and just seemed like such a small area. General conclusion was to improve water conditions that damaged the reef and just let nature's currents bring in the coral pioneers.

Now if this new group would provide the hobby with better and bigger corals for less $$ than wild-caught, the news media could finally quit blaming the hobby for reef destruction.

[MyCockerIs4U2NV]

I wonder how long he leaves the Coral is this highly concentrated salt water? Just a few minutes? Days?

Tyler

[Ray1214]

Looks like a short time. I wonder if I should try this with a frag of something like montipora and kinda experiment.

What is the s/g of the salt on a Margarita glass?

It almost sounds like someone was having a party and it was discovered by accident.

Ray

[tdwyatt]

coral stem cells...