Founded | 2002 |
---|---|
Founder | Rotterdam Zoo Dr. Dirk Petersen |
Focus | Coral reef conservation |
Method | research education outreach restoration |
Key people | Dr. Dirk Petersen Mike Brittsan, M.Sc. |
Website | http://www.secore.org |
SECORE (SExual COral REproduction) is an international non-profit organization focused on coral reef conservation. The group has over sixty supporters in North America, Europe and Japan, and comprises public aquariums, institutes, and universities. Founded in 2001 at the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands, the organization has been developing methods of captive coral reproduction and preservation, [1] citing studies that have predicted coral reefs could be extinct within decades due to climate change. [2]
Based on the coral reproduction research of Dirk Petersen at the Rotterdam Zoo (The Netherlands), SECORE was born in 2002. Petersen's findings led to innovative techniques on the use sexual coral reproduction for coral reef conservation. Established by the aquarium community and coral conservation scientists, SECORE initially focused on ex situ conservation and later as well on reef restoration (in situ conservation).
In 2004, Mike Brittsan, M.Sc., of the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium joined SECORE to take over the leading role in the USA. Over the years, both institutions, the Rotterdam Zoo and the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium – in collaboration with other organisations – started a very successful workshop program not only to train experts in the SECORE techniques, but also to bring different institutions together for a common goal – help saving the greatest marine ecosystem on our planet, the coral reef. SECORE supports excellent science in various fields, such as coral restoration, coral population genetics or coral cryopreservation.
Together with its more than 60 supporting partner institutions, SECORE reaches millions of people to spread the word about the dramatic situation of our ocean and what we can do about it. In 2018, they were subject of coverage from VICE News for their work in the coral reefs of Curacao. [3]
Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago. Opened on May 30, 1930, the 5 million US gal aquarium holds about 32,000 animals and is the third largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere, after the Georgia Aquarium and Monterey Bay Aquarium.
The Waikīkī Aquarium is an aquarium in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It was founded in 1904 and has been an institution of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa since 1919. The aquarium is the second-oldest still-operating public aquarium in the United States, after the New York Aquarium.
The New England Aquarium is a nonprofit organization located in Boston, Massachusetts. The species exhibited include harbor and northern fur seals, California sea lions, African and southern rockhopper penguins, giant Pacific octopuses, weedy seadragons, and thousands of saltwater and freshwater fishes. In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at Central Wharf include the Simons Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch. More than 1.3 million guests visited the aquarium each year prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit, marine research organization based on City Island in Sarasota, Florida, with additional campuses in eastern Sarasota County, Boca Grande, Florida, and the Florida Keys. Founded in 1955 by Eugenie Clark in Placida, Florida, it was known as the Cape Haze Marine Laboratory until 1967. The laboratory aims to advance marine science and education, supporting conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. A public aquarium and associated education program interpret its research for the public.
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium is a public aquarium that features a large variety of Australian aquatic life, displaying more than 700 species comprising more than 13,000 individual fish and other sea and water creatures from most of Australia's water habitats. Opened in 1988, it is regarded as one of Sydney's premier tourist attractions with over 55% of its visitors each year coming from overseas.
The Florida Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, publicly operated institution located in downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It is a large scale, 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m2) aquarium and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. This means they are a leader in conservation and education, supporting programs for wildlife and having a strong educational component in the forms of summer camps, school trips, etc. The facility is home to more than 7,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and all over the world. The facility is located in the Channel District of Downtown Tampa. The Florida Aquarium opened in March 1995 as a privately funded entity and became a public-private partnership when the city of Tampa assumed responsibility for its debt in 1999. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed the Florida Aquarium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the "umbrella" organization for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental education and global sustainability.
Royal Burgers' Zoo is a 45-hectare (110-acre) zoo in Arnhem, Netherlands, and is one of the biggest zoos in the country. Arnhem is a city that lies within the Veluwe, a nature park in the east of the Netherlands. The zoo is popular with both Dutch and German people, and receives about 1 million visitors annually. It was founded by Johan Burgers in 1913.
Elkhorn coral is an important reef-building coral in the Caribbean. The species has a complex structure with many branches which resemble that of elk antlers; hence, the common name. The branching structure creates habitat and shelter for many other reef species. Elkhorn coral is known to grow quickly with an average growth rate of 5 to 10 cm per year. They can reproduce both sexually and asexually, though asexual reproduction is much more common and occurs through a process called fragmentation.
The National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium is the most notable museum and research institution for marine biology in Taiwan, which located in Checheng Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan.
Tubastraea, also known as sun coral or sun polyps, is a genus of coral in the phylum Cnidaria. It is a cup coral in the family Dendrophylliidae.
Coral aquaculture, also known as coral farming or coral gardening, is the cultivation of corals for commercial purposes or coral reef restoration. Aquaculture is showing promise as a tool for restoring coral reefs, which are dying off around the world. The process protects young corals while they are most at risk of dying. Small corals are propagated in nurseries and then replanted on the reef.
Les Kaufman is an evolutionary ecologist specializing in the biology and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. He has special expertise in coral reef biology, the evolution and ecology of tropical great lakes fishes, and ecosystem-based management of marine resources.
Organizations which currently undertake coral reef and atoll restoration projects using simple methods of plant propagation:
Justine K. O'Brien, an Australian zoologist, is best known for her use of reproductive research to assist in wildlife management and conservation.
Caribbean Research and Management of Biodiversity Foundation is a research organization in Curaçao, former Netherlands Antilles. It is situated in Piscadera Bay, 25 metres (82 ft) from the Caribbean Sea. Its education and research programs include the ecological aspects of fisheries and coral reef sciences.
Kristen Marhaver is a marine biologist studying coral reefs and specializing in coral ecology, reproduction, and conservation. Marhaver is a senior scientist at CARMABI Marine Research Station. Marhaver was part of the group of scientists that successfully used frozen Elkhorn coral sperm to fertilize live coral eggs to raise the first lab-reared juveniles in nurseries. Some of the sperm and eggs were from geographically isolated corals of the same species. Their success allows for the possibility of breeding corals to be more resistant to increasing ocean water temperatures by breeding corals that already survive at warmer temperatures with those that live at colder temperatures.
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