VOA慢速英语--珊瑚的首次实验室繁殖为受到威胁的海洋生物提供了新的希望

First Lab Reproduction of Coral Offers New Hope for Threatened Sea Life

American scientists have reported the first successful sexual reproduction of Atlantic coral in a laboratory setting.

Researchers at the Florida Aquarium¹ in Tampa recently announced their results. They described them as a “scientific breakthrough.”

Scientists believe the reproduction method could help save Atlantic corals in danger of disappearing completely.

Corals are groups of small organisms called polyps. These polyps live within a hard skeleton made of limestone². Millions of corals grow together to form coral reefs. The reefs support many kinds of sea life. Coral reefs also support fishing activities and protect inland waterways.

Corals can reproduce either asexually or sexually. Asexually, new small polyps break off from parent polyps to expand or begin new colonies. This process is also known as fragmentation.

In sexual reproduction, some corals produce sperm³ and eggs and release them into the water. The eggs and sperm join to form free-floating larvae⁴. The larvae are either fertilized⁶ within the body of a polyp or in the water in a process called spawning⁸.

The laboratory experiment at the Florida Aquarium involved inducing corals to release their eggs and sperm in laboratory tanks.

Scientists in other countries have reported similar success, but the Florida Aquarium’s experiment was a first for the United States. The Florida team cooperated with researchers from the Britain-based Horniman Museum and Gardens, which has successfully induced spawning of different kinds of Pacific coral.

In order for the experiment to be a success, scientists had to control the tank to create conditions as similar as possible to a natural ocean environment. The Florida Aquarium team spent months doing this.

The effort included changing the temperatures in summer and winter and using technology to recreate sun and moon activity. Such conditions serve as biological signs for the organisms that it is time to spawn⁷.

Keri O’Neil is a senior coral scientist at the Florida Aquarium. She said the “massive and fully⁹ synchronized¹⁰ spawning” was a success because it happened at exactly the predicted time for wild spawning. She added that by creating the right conditions, “you can change the game for coral restoration.”

“We’ll be able to do this for dozens of species, and it opens up a world of new possibilities,” O’Neil told Reuters news agency.

The scientists plan to use the method to spawn new coral colonies to help repopulate Florida’s struggling coral reefs. The reef system is one of the largest in the world. But it has suffered years of damage from climate change, pollution and disease.

Amelia Moura is the science program manager for the Florida-based Coral Restoration Foundation. The organization carries out its own major fragmentation programs. This involves “farming” large numbers of corals that are later “outplanted” to the reef.

Moura told VOA there are many causes for the widespread destruction of Atlantic coral. All, however, are linked to climate change.

“Our corals, like many around the world, are at risk of warming waters and ocean acidification - all which come under the large umbrella of climate change.”

In addition, she said Florida coral is also currently suffering from “a massive disease outbreak” likely related to poor quality water flowing into the ocean.

Moura said it was “really exciting” to learn about the successful spawning of Atlantic coral. She said the results were especially important because they happened with pillar coral. This kind of coral has a more complex reproductive process than other species.

She added that there are very few adult colonies of this coral species still living. So, the new laboratory spawning can make a huge difference in coral restoration efforts in Florida and elsewhere.

“This new influx¹¹ of genetic¹² material is really critical for the success of the species long-term.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

breakthrough – n. an important discovery

larvae – n. the form some organisms take before they develop into a different form

fertilize⁵ – v. to cause an egg to start to develop into a young animal or baby

induce – v. take efforts to try and make something happen

synchronized – adj. happening in a well-planned, organized way

restoration – n. repairing something to the way it used to be

acidification – n. the process of becoming acidic

umbrella – n. something that includes a number of similar things

exciting – adj. causing great happiness and enthusiasm

influx – n. the arrival of a large number of people or things

1 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

2 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

3 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

4 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

5 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

6 Fertilized   

v.施肥( fertilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The study of psychology has recently been widely cross-fertilized by new discoveries in genetics. 心理学研究最近从遗传学的新发现中受益匪浅。
• Flowers are often fertilized by bees as they gather nectar. 花常在蜜蜂采蜜时受粉。

7 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。

8 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句

11 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

12 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。