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Abstract PRESERVING ENDANGERED CORAL Mary Hagedorn Coral reefs are some of the oldest and most diverse ecosystems
on our planet, one of the ocean’s main nurseries for fish
and invertebrates, provide natural storm barriers for coastlines,
and are a potential source for novel pharmaceuticals. Throughout
their range, coral are dying due to human influences. Habitat preservation
is a good way to conserve ecosystems, but threatening global patterns
show no signs of relief that would permit recovery of damaged coral.
Acropora palmata and cervicornis are the first
reef-building corals to be listed as threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. Fortunately, novel ex situ conservation techniques,
such as genetic banks using frozen samples, hold strong promise
for improvements in preserving species within ecosystems, because
genetic material can remain frozen but alive for hundreds of years
in liquid nitrogen, allowing the time necessary to mitigate and
restore habitats. Both the choice of a cryoprotectant and the freezing
rate are crucial to the success of cryopreservation, and depends
on understanding the cell’s basic physiological traits. We
have used the Hawaiian mushroom coral, Fungia scutaria
to help elucidate basic cryo-mechanisms for coral, and have successfully
cryopreserved its sperm and produced the first coral larvae from
cryopreserved sperm. During field studies in Puerto Rico in 2006,
preliminary cryo-studies on A. palmata sperm and oocytes
were conducted as well as developmental studies on their resultant
larvae, but gamete availability was limited to one night. As observed
in F. scutaria, a 10% solution of the cryoprotectant, propylene
glycol in seawater, was the least toxic one tested to both fresh
sperm and oocytes of A. palmata as determined by successful
fertilization. Compared to F. scutaria, development to
the swimming larval stage in A. palmata was 6 times longer
and had an unusual pattern of division. We will expand these preliminary
studies in August 2007.
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