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Cryopreservation as a Tool for Reef Restoration: 2019

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Book cover Reproductive Sciences in Animal Conservation

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1200))

Abstract

Throughout the world coral reefs are being degraded at unprecedented rates. Locally, reefs are damaged by pollution, nutrient overload and sedimentation from out-dated land-use, fishing and mining practices. Globally, increased greenhouse gases are warming and acidifying oceans, making corals more susceptible to stress, bleaching and newly emerging diseases. The coupling of climate change impacts and local anthropogenic stressors has caused a widespread and well-recognized reef crisis. While the establishment and enforcement of marine protected areas and preventing the acceleration of climate change are essential to management of these stressors, the inexorable impacts of climate change will continue to cause declines in genetic diversity and population viability. Gamete cryopreservation has already acted as an effective insurance policy to maintain the genetic diversity of many wildlife species, and has now begun to be explored and applied to coral conservation. Cryopreservation can act to preserve reef biodiversity and genetic diversity. To date, we have had a great deal of success with cryopreserving sperm from ~30 coral species of coral species. Moreover, we are creating the basic science to freeze and thaw coral larvae that can soon be used to help secure and restore reefs. Building on these successes, we have established genetic banks using frozen samples and use those samples to help mitigate threats to the Great Barrier Reef and other areas.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA

    Mary Hagedorn & Jonathan Daly

  2. Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, HI, USA

    Mary Hagedorn & Jonathan Daly

  3. Bush Heritage Australia, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rebecca Spindler

Authors
  1. Mary Hagedorn
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  2. Rebecca Spindler
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  3. Jonathan Daly
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mary Hagedorn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, USA

    Pierre Comizzoli

  2. Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA, USA

    Janine L. Brown

  3. Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    William V. Holt

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Hagedorn, M., Spindler, R., Daly, J. (2019). Cryopreservation as a Tool for Reef Restoration: 2019. In: Comizzoli, P., Brown, J., Holt, W. (eds) Reproductive Sciences in Animal Conservation. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1200. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23633-5_16

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