Restoration
Genetic Diversity: The Key to Coral Reef Resilience
What is Genetic Diversity?
Genetic diversity refers to the variety of genes within a species. Genetic diversity within any population is vital, as it gives species the ability to adapt to changing environments and rebound from disturbance events threats like disease and climate-induced stressors. Greater genetic diversity equals stronger, more resilient populations.
The Bigger Picture: Supporting Biodiverse Marine Communities
Ecosystems are dynamic, made up of multitudes of interconnected species. Healthy ecosystems are defined by functional connections between these diverse populations.
Coral reefs are the foundation of marine ecosystems, the beating heart of marine biodiversity. They support at least 25% of all marine species at some point in their life cycles – providing food, shelter, cleaning stations and more for vast numbers of invertebrates, fish, marine mammals. And, in turn, these species also have complex relationships with each other, forming intricate webs of associations that determine the health of the ocean, and ultimately all life on Earth.
COMPLEX, DIVERSE RELATIONSHIPS
The more of these connections and relationships that there are in an ecosystem, the more resilient that ecosystem is to disturbances.
If one or two of these relationship breakdown, in a complex, biodiverse system, other species and connections can compensate which means that that the ecosystem can continue to function.
To support these complex systems, it is critical that the corals themselves also comprise diverse populations, with different species of corals providing different types of habitats and performing different functions.
But genetic diversity within these species is also critical.
Why is Genetic Diversity Important for Coral Reef Resilience?
Corals face numerous stressors: rising sea temperatures, ocean acidification, disease, and pollution, to name but a few. Genetic diversity within coral species means that some individuals will naturally be more resilient to certain stressors than others.
DIVERSE POPULATIONS VS. DIVERSE STRESSORS
If an entire population of corals were genetically identical, a single environmental change or disease outbreak could wipe them all out.
By restoring genetically diverse coral populations, we ensure that no matter what happens, some individuals will survive and reproduce, helping the reef ecosystem to recover after disturbances.
The problem with ‘Super Corals’
Some scientists are focussed on breeding or engineering “super corals” that are more resistant to heat or specific diseases. While this is important research, this approach to coral reef restoration is risky in the long run.
POPULATIONS THAT CONTAIN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIFFERENT OBSEWRVABLE CHARACTERISTICS HAVE ALLELIC DIVERSITY
Allelic diversity means that individuals within a population will likely have more diverse ways of responding to different environmental fluctuations. And when reef communities can react in variable, complex ways, they are more resilient.
In our nurseries, we strive to promote both genotypic variation and allelic diversity within and across species, giving reefs the best chance to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
CRF and Genetic Diversity
At CRF we are committed to safeguarding and promoting coral genetic diversity. We currently work with hundreds of different genotypes across more than 20 species.
We are prioritizing long-term ecological restoration with a commitment to boosting and maintaining the biodiversity and health of coral reefs in Florida and beyond.
Our efforts include the careful management of the gene bank in our Tavernier Coral Tree Nursery and redundancy measures with a second in situ gene banks managed by Nova Southeastern University in Broward County. We also have all of our genets represented in two land-based systems managed by collaborators The Reef Institute in West Palm Beach and Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, both in Florida.
