2025-07-30 ロードアイランド大学(URI)
Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) is an ecosystem engineer that provides habitat for tens of thousands of marine species in Caribbean waters; it’s now listed as threatened by the Endangered Species Act and is almost extirpated from reefs in Florida.
<関連情報>
- https://www.uri.edu/news/2025/07/caribbean-coral-reefs-chronic-decline-could-get-a-boost-from-proactive-assisted-gene-flow-if-allowed/
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx5842
サンゴ礁の急速な減少に伴うカリブ海サンゴの積極的な遺伝子流動の補助 生態系機能を維持するための国境を越えた取り組みを促進する規制措置の可能性 Proactive assisted gene flow for Caribbean corals in an era of rapid coral reef decline Regulatory action could facilitate cross-border efforts to retain ecosystem function
Andrew C. Baker, Iliana B. Baums, Sarah W. Davies, Andréa G. Grottoli, […] , and Scott Winters
Science Published:24 Jul 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx5842
Abstract
Coral reefs are one of the most well-documented marine ecosystems under increasing threat from climate change. Catastrophic episodes of coral bleaching and subsequent mortality caused by prolonged heat stress (1) highlight the need to test and implement new approaches to prevent species loss and retain ecosystem function (2). One of these approaches is assisted gene flow (AGF)—the managed movement of individuals or gametes between populations within species ranges to mitigate local maladaptation (3). AGF has recently been approved to help save elkhorn corals in Florida from local extirpation but faces challenges for its broader application owing to static regulatory frameworks whose precautionary nature does not readily account for the high cost of inaction in response to the dynamic ecological realities of climate change (4, 5). Here, we highlight how regulatory action could help safely facilitate coral AGF across international boundaries, at least in the tropical western Atlantic (Caribbean).
