Australian scientists have successfully tested a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae(珊瑚幼虫), which they say could eventually help restore the wild coral reefs(珊瑚礁) threatened by climate change. They are struggling to protect coral reefs as rising ocean tem peratures damage ecosystems.The Great Barrier Reef has suffered four events of becoming white in the last seven years including the first one during a La Nina phenomenon, which typi-cally brings cooler temperatures.
Frozen coral can be stored and later reintroduced to the wild, but the current process requires some modern equipment including lasers(激光). The scientists say a new lightweight "cryomesh(冷冻网)" can be produced cheaply and better protect coral. In a December lab tri- al,the world's first with Great Barrier Reef coral, they used the "cryomesh" to freeze coral larvae at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences(AIMS). "If we can protect the coral, we'll have tools for the future to really help restore the reefs, and this technology for coral reefs in the future is a real game-changer," said Mary Hagedorn, Senior Research Scientist at AIMS.
The "cryomesh" was previously tested on smaller and larger kinds of Hawaiian corals. Some trials on the larger kinds failed. But then other trials are continuing with larger varieties of Great Barrier Reef coral. The trials involved scientists from AIMS, the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute,the Great Barrier Reef foundation and the Taronga Conservation Society Australia as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.
The technology,which will help store coral larvae at - 196 ℃, was invented by a team from the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering. It was first tested on corals by PhD student Nikolas Zuchowicz. "This new technology that we've got will allow us to do that, and it can actually help to support the growing and restoration of wildlife in water," said Jonathan Daly of the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
