Greetings!
Happy Holidays from all of us at Ocean Genome Legacy! This month, we are excited to share with you that OGL will be playing a role in protecting one of the most endangered corals in the Caribbean. Teaming up with researchers and divers from Mote Marine Laboratory, OGL has committed to archiving tissue and genomic material from the staghorn coral, an endangered species found in the Caribbean and in Florida's reefs. Read on to learn more about the restoration project in the Florida Keys and OGL's role in developing a DNA bank from these precious samples. And don't forget to check out the latest and greatest news in marine science on our Facebook and Twitter pages!   |
| Coral Restoration in the Florida Keys |
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Global climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution threaten to destroy coral reefs throughout Florida and the Caribbean. In response to this, a large, multi-institutional group of scientists, including researchers from Mote Marine Laboratory in the Florida Keys, are working hard to collect, maintain, and propagate thousands of endangered staghorn coral colonies
 | An array of newly fragmented staghorn corals growing in an underwater nursery
(Photo: Erich Bartels, Mote) |
in underwater sites called nurseries. These scientists have permits to collect small clippings from wild coral colonies and use them to "farm" new corals. Their nurseries can support thousands of these coral pieces, called fragments. The scientists grow the fragments into new corals, which they place back into the wild, re-seeding coral reefs of the future. These clever coral farmers can grow ten coral colonies from just one starting fragment!
 | Healthy staghorn corals on the reefs in Florida
(Photo: E. Bartels, Mote) |
 | A staghorn coral fragment growing in the underwater nursery
(Photo: E. Bartels, Mote) |
Researchers will monitor these new animals to see which ones survive, and why. They hope to discover the genes that give some corals an advantage in adverse conditions. OGL scientists are archiving DNA from these coral fragments so that scientists can use our comprehensive DNA collection to help in their search. OGL is excited to support this desperately needed research that will give our precious coral reefs a chance to survive in the face of a changing global climate.
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| Coming Soon... | |
GIANT SHIPWORMS!
In next month's issue, we'll tell you all of the tales from our latest expedition, when collaborating scientists from the Philippines trekked to remote corners of the world to collect the world's longest clam - it can grow to six feet in length!
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