giving coral reefs a future

Twelve young investigators from universities in Mexico, the US, the Netherlands and Spain are participating in this workshop, which offers in the first week a combination of morning lectures and hands-on practice in the afternoon. “As experienced scientists we know, that it makes a huge difference, whether you just read about something in a book or get the chance to learn it and actually try it afterwards” says Anastazia T. Banaszak. “The latter is the best way to teach. Our lectures in morning offer a strong theoretical background that works as a framework for the practical experiences in the afternoon.” 

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In yesterday’s introduction lectures, coral experts like Dr. Daniel Gleason, Dr. Eugenio Carpizo Ituarte and Dr. Pedro Medina Rosas presented basic as well as surprising facts about coral biology in general and coral reproduction in particular. To give one examples: Did you know, that the elkhorn coral Acropora palmata grows thicker branches the shallower the water gets? It’s an adaption to withstand wave energy. Corals in deeper water don’t need to fear the destructive force of breaking waves. That’s why their branches usually grow thinner.

Another surprising fact: A coral species, which forms a colony round as a ball in shallow water, might form a flat, disc-shaped colony in higher depths. The decisive factor here is the amount of sunlight, which penetrates the water. The fewer light is reaching the colony, the further spread-out the colony is shaped to catch as much light as possible.

In the afternoon, the young scientists formed teams and got to make their first gamete collection nets. A task, which showed, who has used saw or pliers before and who hasn’t. Luckily, no one was injured. Tomorrow, we will test the net’s buoyancy in the water close to the UNAM pier. Why this is going to be a challenge will be the topic of our next blog entry. So stay tuned!

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