Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines is part of the Florida Reef Tract Rescue Project, working to save coral from a deadly disease called stony coral tissue loss disease that is rapidly killing coral off the coast of Miami.

Conservation Efforts

The zoo’s ‘Salt Room,’ a bio-secure, man-made life support system, houses hundreds of gallons of saltwater and coral rescued from the Florida coast. The coral is bathed in blue light to simulate underwater sunlight, and the zoo’s aquatics team cares for about 10 different species and 60 coral colonies.

According to Colin Brocka, a coral biologist at Blank Park Zoo, ‘It’s a bio-secure system, trying to keep things clean because it’s all destined to restore the coral reef.’ The project has required a steep learning curve, with the team figuring out how to keep the coral alive and care for them.

Dr. Drew Gall, senior veterinarian at Blank Park Zoo, uses ultrasound technology to study the coral’s anatomy, identifying structures like the mouth of the coral without removing it from the water or touching the animal. The ongoing research may help uncover the mystery behind the disease killing stony coral in the ocean.

The work at Blank Park Zoo is critical to preserving coral species and restoring the reef. As Brocka explained, ‘We kind of serve as, like a coral nursery or like a gene bank, to maintain our genetic pool of coral, with the goal to spawn those coral and put back the young, the young recruits, the baby coral that we can grow up.’

Original reporting: KCCI Des Moines — read the source article.