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A group of scientists has rescued a series of coral reefs in southern Puerto Rico, but rule out that others can be recovered due to the problems posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The tremors that occurred in Puerto Rico in early 2020 affected not only residences and schools but also coral reefs in the south of the island, leading to a group of marine geologists and biologists to rescue some of these endangered species until March .
Led by the geologist and director of underwater activities of the Department of Marine Sciences of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (RUM), Milton Carlo, the scientists mobilized to do exploratory dives in the reefs of the area, specifically in “Pinnacles” and “Turrumote”.
Both reefs are located a minimum of 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from La Parguera, which have large coral colonies of the genus Orbicella faveolata, which, according to Carlo told EFE, “have the shape of an umbrella”.
Centuries-old corals
They were videos taken by fishermen and published on social networks that showed a crack in one of the corals, located about 15 meters deep, which led marine geologists and biologists to verify the area.
Carlo points out that between 10 to 40 coral colonies on various reefs of La Parguera were affected by the two strongest tremors recorded this year, one of magnitude 5.8, on January 6, and the most powerful, 6.4, on January 7.
According to the scientist, one of the most affected corals – about 227 kilos – was not firm, which caused it would break its base and turn with its inverted living tissue, leaving with the potential to die in just weeks if not attended.
To flip the corals, the scientific team uses special lifting bags.
It was then that the group of experts was given the task of going to the area and turning at least two corals, one of approximately 300 years old and another of almost 2.44 meters and about 400 years old.
Carlo admitted that the work of turning these corals “is not usual”, but due to the conditions that led them to turn, and in fear of losing them, they were rescued.
Reviving corals
Flipping a coral is basically like taking an old man and reliving it, as if you were giving him cardiopulmonary resuscitation ”, he maintained.
A coral is made up of polyps, which are small animals, those that use sunlight, survive at temperatures above 15 degrees Celsius and contain dinoflagellates.
In “Pinnacles”, according to Carlo, there are coral colonies that can have between 800 and 1,000 years old.
Carlo indicated that the main cause for a coral to split in normal conditions is due to bioerosion, “but the tremors accelerated and increased the number of these that were affected.”
“In general, corals do not have the structure or roots that a tree or a building possesses. Size is relative to age. The bigger they are, the older they are, ”said Carlo, who works in the laboratories of the Department of Marine Sciences on the Mayagüez campus, on Isla Magueyes de Lajas.
The house of many
Coral reefs are the habitat for 25% of the world’s marine speciesBut they are also fragile in the face of hurricanes and the climate crisis.
According to Carlo, corals are found mostly in the tropics and they compete for sunlight and space to survive, continue to develop and continue to grow.
However, the process of growth of these has been limited in the past 40 years due to sedimentation generated by buildings in coastal areas, added the scientist.
“The importance of a reef is because it represents a protection barrier, like mangroves. Basically it is the same job of decreasing the height and speed of the waves, in addition to being the residence of thousands of fish and invertebrates ”he explained.
Coral growth also depends on the species, although in general, massive corals are enlarged by one to five millimeters or up to several centimeters a year.
“Coral does not have to be very strong to break”
The work of recovering corals is “a mission”, Miguel Figuerola, a master’s degree student in Marine Sciences with a specialization in Biological Oceanography from RUM, told EFE.
“As we are thus adventurers, it is a unique experience that we could not miss in life. Helping to rescue a colony pays off and it is part of the conservation of a highly threatened ecosystem, ”he said.
Figuerola compared flipping a coral with the cut of a large tree, in the sense that the area where it will fall is first evaluated and the necessary equipment is needed to lift it from the bottom. In these cases the lifting bags are used.
“Coral does not have to be very strong to break. Not having much support, it easily collapses. There are some colonies well anchored to the reef substratum, that their weight is well distributed and will stick, but others are not, “added Figuerola, 29.
The ease of breaking also depends on the species of the coral and the state of erosion of the reef, as this “has a lot to do with the skeletal density at the level of specific colonies and the entire reef, because the denser and more consolidated the coral skeletons, the more difficult it is to crack ”, he detailed.
“With each aftershock it cracks more. It is very comparative with a house, “said Figuerola, who explained that” a reef is like a building, which has columns, walls and a roof, but much more asymmetric. “
