20: The Coral Disease that's wiping out Reefs in Florida with Tanya Ramseyer
Have you heard about the disease that might wipe out coral reefs around Florida? The Stony Coral Tissue Loss disease flared up in 2014, and since then has progressed despite scientist's attempts to stop its spread. Tanya Ramseyer is the Coral Rescue Project Coordinator who is working with a team and holding facilities all over the USA to collect healthy coral samples and keep them safe until this disease disappears. Tanya describes how her and her team collect healthy coral from the reef, and then transport it to land-based facilities. This helps them create a gene bank of coral reefs just in case the disease does not stop spreading. This will help preserve genetic diversity, and the team has so far collected 1,700 out of 4,400 samples of coral fragments that can spawn. Learn more about how this disease is affecting over 20 species of coral, why a gene bank of corals is important, and the impacts of nutrients, fertilizers, and runoff have on our ocean's reef.