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Nu er der fokus på dyrkning af koraller for at hjælpe på nedbrydninggen.

http://www.nation...47380.html

In order to slowdown the deterioration of coral, marine scientists from Chulalongkorn University are taking part in a project to help the reproduction of coral, a seminar at CU's Faculty of Science was told yesterday.

Instead of depending on natural production, CU scientists extract cells to create coral larvae, look after them for a year or two before they are ready for the sea, Assoc Prof Suchana Chawanich said, adding that this technique was first achieved in Thailand by the CU faculty.

Coral bleaching has been extensive along the coastal areas on the side of the Andaman Sea since April, before it was reported in the Gulf of Thailand, in the Sattahip area in Chon Buri at around May, where 10 per cent of the overall coral population had deteriorated. By now, about 60 per cent of the coral in the Gulf has been affected.

The new reproduction technique might not create huge quantities of coral, though it has increased the survival rate of new corals and resulted in a greater diversity and variety in breeds.

"Genetic diversity is useful in increasing the resistance of corals to environmental changes and the technique is an appropriate alternative to slowing down coral bleaching," Suchana said.

Coral normally reproduce in a nonsexual manner the year round, though during an unspecified period each year, they conjugate.

There are more than 10 coral breeds successfully undergoing reproduction assisted by CU marine scientists after a project with cooperation from the Navy and under a patronage of HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, began in 2006. The survival rate of young corals through humanassisted reproduction after a sixmonth postbirth period is now 50 per cent compared to 0.01 in the nature, said Suchana.