How we're growing baby corals to rebuild reefs | Kristen Marhaver

Prevoditelj: Senzos Osijek Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

What was the most difficult job you ever did?

Koji je najteži posao koji ste ikad radili?

Was it working in the sun?

Je li to bio rad na suncu?

Was it working to provide food for a family or a community?

Je li to bio rad za pružanje hrane obitelji ili zajednici?

Was it working days and nights trying to protect lives and property?

Je li to bio rad danju i noću štiteći živote i imovinu?

Was it working alone

Samostalan rad

or working on a project that wasn't guaranteed to succeed,

ili rad na projektu kojemu nije bio zajamčen uspjeh,

but that might improve human health or save a life?

ali bi mogao unaprijediti ljudsko zdravlje ili spasiti život?

Was it working to build something, create something, make a work of art?

Je li to bio rad na izgradnji nečega, stvaranju nečega, umjetničkog djela?

Was it work for which you were never sure

Je li to bio posao za koji niste bili sigurni

you were fully understood or appreciated?

da ste bili potpuno shvaćeni ili da se vaš rad cijenio?

The people in our communities who do these jobs

Ljudi u našim zajednicama koji rade ove stvari

deserve our attention, our love and our deepest support.

zaslužuju našu pažnju, našu ljubav i našu punu podršku.

But people aren't the only ones in our communities

Ali nisu samo ljudi u našim zajednicama

who do these difficult jobs.

oni koji imaju tako teške zadatke.

These jobs are also done by the plants, the animals

Te zadatke imaju ptice, životinje

and the ecosystems on our planet,

i ekosustavi na našem planetu,

including the ecosystems I study: the tropical coral reefs.

uključujući i ekosustave koje ja proučavam: tropske koraljne grebene.

Coral reefs are farmers.

Koraljni grebeni su farmeri.

They provide food, income and food security

Pružaju nam hranu, prihode i osiguravaju hranu

for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

stotinama milijuna ljudi diljem svijeta.

Coral reefs are security guards.

Koraljni grebeni su zaštitari.

The structures that they build protect our shorelines

Strukture koje oni grade štite naše obale

from storm surge and waves,

od udara oluja i valova,

and the biological systems that they house filter the water

biološki sustavi koje imaju filtriraju vodu

and make it safer for us to work and play.

i omogućuju nam siguran rad i igru.

Coral reefs are chemists.

Koraljni grebeni su kemičari.

The molecules that we're discovering on coral reefs are increasingly important

Molekule koje otkrivamo na koraljnim grebenima postaju sve značajnije

in the search for new antibiotics and new cancer drugs.

u potrazi za novim antibioticima i novim lijekovima za rak.

And coral reefs are artists.

I koraljni grebeni su umjetnici.

The structures that they build

Strukture koje grade

are some of the most beautiful things on planet Earth.

su jedne od najljepših na Zemlji.

And this beauty is the foundation of the tourism industry

Ova ljepota je temelj industriji turizma

in many countries with few or little other natural resources.

u brojnim zemljama s nedovoljno drugih resursa.

So for all of these reasons, all of these ecosystem services,

Zbog svih ovih razloga, svih ovih uloga za ekosustav,

economists estimate the value of the world's coral reefs

ekonomisti procjenjuju vrijednost koraljnih grebena

in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year.

u stotinama milijardi dolara godišnje.

And yet despite all that hard work being done for us

Ali unatoč svemu što se čini za nas

and all that wealth that we gain,

i bogatstva koje stječemo,

we have done almost everything we possibly could to destroy that.

činimo gotovo sve što možemo kako bismo to uništili.

We have taken the fish out of the oceans

Iz oceana smo izlovili ribu

and we have added in fertilizer, sewage,

i dodali gnojivo, kanalizaciju,

diseases, oil, pollution, sediments.

bolesti, naftu, zagađenje, sedimente.

We have trampled the reefs physically with our boats, our fins, our bulldozers,

Fizički smo pregazili grebene brodovima, propelerima, buldožerima,

and we have changed the chemistry of the entire sea,

i promijenili smo kemiju čitavog mora,

warmed the waters and made storms worse.

ugrijali vode i učinili oluje gorima.

And these would all be bad on their own,

Ove promjene bi bile loše same po sebi,

but these threats magnify each other

ali one povećavaju jedna drugu

and compound one another and make each other worse.

međusobno se spajaju i jedna drugu čini gorom.

I'll give you an example.

Dat ću vam primjer.

Where I live and work, in Curaçao, a tropical storm went by a few years ago.

Mjesto gdje živim i radim, Curaçao, prije par godina poharala je tropska oluja.

And on the eastern end of the island,

Na istočnom kraju otoka,

where the reefs are intact and thriving,

gdje su grebeni netaknuti i gdje bujaju,

you could barely tell a tropical storm had passed.

jedva se može reći da je tropska oluja prošla.

But in town, where corals had died from overfishing, from pollution,

Ali u gradu, gdje su koralji izumrli zbog pretjeranog izlova ribe, zbog zagađenja,

the tropical storm picked up the dead corals

tropska oluja je podigla mrtve koralje

and used them as bludgeons to kill the corals that were left.

i koristila ih kao toljage pri uništavanju preostalih koralja.

This is a coral that I studied during my PhD --

Ovo je koralj koji sam proučavala za svoj doktorat,

I got to know it quite well.

dobro sam ga upoznala.

And after this storm took off half of its tissue,

Nakon što je ova oluja skinula polovicu njegova tkiva,

it became infested with algae,

postao je preplavljen algama,

the algae overgrew the tissue and that coral died.

alge su obrasle tkivo i koralj je umro.

This magnification of threats, this compounding of factors

Povećanje prijetnji, ovo spajanje faktora

is what Jeremy Jackson describes as the "slippery slope to slime."

je što Jeremy Jackson opisuje kao “sklizak teren do mulja.”

It's hardly even a metaphor because many of our reefs now

Teško da je to uopće metafora jer mnogi su grebeni sada

are literally bacteria and algae and slime.

doslovno bakterije, alge i mulj.

Now, this is the part of the talk

Ovo je dio govora

where you may expect me to launch into my plea

u kojemu mnogi od vas očekuju da ću početi moliti

for us to all save the coral reefs.

da svi spasimo koraljne grebene.

But I have a confession to make:

Ali moram nešto priznati:

that phrase drives me nuts.

taj me izraz izluđuje.

Whether I see it in a tweet, in a news headline

Bilo da ga vidim kao tweet, u novinskom naslovu

or the glossy pages of a conservation brochure,

ili na stranicama brošure o očuvanju okoliša,

that phrase bothers me,

taj mi izraz smeta,

because we as conservationists have been sounding the alarms

jer mi kao konzervatori na sva zvona upozoravamo

about the death of coral reefs for decades.

na smrt koraljnih grebena već desetljećima.

And yet, almost everyone I meet, no matter how educated,

No i dalje, gotovo svi koje sam upoznala, bez obzira koliko obrazovani bili,

is not sure what a coral is or where they come from.

nisu sigurni što je koralj ili kako koralji nastaju.

How would we get someone to care about the world's coral reefs

Kako da se netko brine o koraljnim grebenima svijeta

when it's an abstract thing they can barely understand?

kad je za njih to apstraktna stvar koju jedva razumiju?

If they don't understand what a coral is or where it comes from,

Ako ne razumiju što je koralj ili kako nastaje,

or how funny or interesting or beautiful it is,

ili kako je smiješan, zanimljiv ili lijep,

why would we expect them to care about saving them?

zašto bi očekivali da im bude stalo do spašavanja?

So let's change that.

Promijenimo to.

What is a coral and where does it come from?

Što je koralj i kako nastaje?

Corals are born in a number of different ways,

Koralji nastaju na nekoliko različitih načina,

but most often by mass spawning: all of the individuals of a single species

ali najčešće mrijestom: sve jedinke neke vrste

on one night a year,

jedne noći godišnje,

releasing all the eggs they've made that year

otpuštaju sva jajašca koja su razvijali te godine

into the water column,

u stupac vode,

packaged into bundles with sperm cells.

pakirana u paketiće sa spermijima.

And those bundles go to the surface of the ocean and break apart.

Ti paketići putuju do površine oceana i rastavljaju se.

And hopefully -- hopefully -- at the surface of the ocean,

Ako ima nade, na površini oceana će se spojiti

they meet the eggs and sperm from other corals.

s jajašcima i spermijima drugih koralja.

And that is why you need lots of corals on a coral reef --

Zato je potrebno na koraljnom grebenu imati mnogo koralja -

so that all of their eggs can meet their match at the surface.

tako da se njihova jajašca mogu spariti na površini.

When they're fertilized, they do what any other animal egg does:

Kad su oplođena, čine ono što čini svako jaje druge životinje:

divides in half again and again and again.

dijeli se na pola iznova i iznova.

Taking these photos under the microscope every year

Snimajući ove fotografije mikroskopom svake godine

is one of my favorite and most magical moments of the year.

jedan je od najčarobnijih trenutaka godine.

At the end of all this cell division, they turn into a swimming larva --

Nakon svih dioba, prevore se u plivajuće ličinke –

a little tiny blob of fat the size of a poppy seed,

sićušni grumen masti veličine zrna maka,

but with all of the sensory systems that we have.

ali sa svim osjetilima koja mi imamo.

They can sense color and light, textures, chemicals, pH.

Osjećaju svjetlost, razlikuju boje, teksture, kemikalije, pH.

They can even feel pressure waves; they can hear sound.

Osjećaju čak i tlak, čuju.

And they use those talents

I koriste te sposobnosti

to search the bottom of the reef for a place to attach

u potrazi za staništem na dnu grebena

and live the rest of their lives.

i trajnim mjestom za život.

So imagine finding a place where you would live the rest of your life

Zamislite da ste tražili gdje ćete provesti ostatak svog života

when you were just two days old.

kad ste imali samo dva dana.

They attach in the place they find most suitable,

Vežu se na mjesto koje im je najpogodnije,

they build a skeleton underneath themselves,

stvaraju skelet ispod sebe,

they build a mouth and tentacles,

razvijaju usta i krakove,

and then they begin the difficult work of building the world's coral reefs.

i zatim počinju s teškim zadatkom izgradnje koraljnog grebena.

One coral polyp will divide itself again and again and again,

Jedan polip koralja će se iznova i iznova dijeliti,

leaving a limestone skeleton underneath itself

ostavljajući skelet od vapnenca ispod sebe

and growing up toward the sun.

i rastući prema suncu.

Given hundreds of years and many species,

Nakon stotina godina i brojnih vrsta,

what you get is a massive limestone structure

ostaje masivna vapnenačka struktura

that can be seen from space in many cases,

koja se u mnogo slučajeva može vidjeti iz svemira,

covered by a thin skin of these hardworking animals.

prekrivena tankim slojem ovih marljivih životinja.

Now, there are only a few hundred species of corals on the planet, maybe 1,000.

Postoji svega nekoliko stotina vrsta koralja na svijetu, možda oko tisuću.

But these systems house millions and millions of other species,

Ali ovi su sustavi dom milijunima drugih vrsta,

and that diversity is what stabilizes the systems,

a ta je raznolikost ono što daje ravnotežu sustavima,

and it's where we're finding our new medicines.

i mjesto je gdje nalazimo nove lijekove.

It's how we find new sources of food.

Kako pronalazimo nove izvore hrane.

I'm lucky enough to work on the island of Curaçao,

Dovoljno sam sretna što radim na otoku Curaçao,

where we still have reefs that look like this.

gdje još imamo grebene koji izgledaju ovako.

But, indeed, much of the Caribbean and much of our world

Ali, većina Kariba i ostatka svijeta

is much more like this.

izgleda više ovako.

Scientists have studied in increasing detail

Znanstvenici sve detaljnije proučavaju

the loss of the world's coral reefs,

nestanak koraljnih grebena,

and they have documented with increasing certainty the causes.

i dokumentirali su, sa sve većom sigurnošću, koji su uzroci.

But in my research, I'm not interested in looking backward.

Međutim, u svom istraživanju, ne zanima me gledanje unatrag.

My colleagues and I in Curaçao are interested in looking forward

Moje kolege i mene u Curaçau zanima gledanje naprijed

at what might be.

što bi se moglo dogoditi.

And we have the tiniest reason to be optimistic.

I imamo najsitnije razloge zašto biti optimističan.

Because even in some of these reefs

Čak in na grebenima

that we probably could have written off long ago,

koje smo vjerojatno mogli otpisati jako davno,

we sometimes see baby corals arrive and survive anyway.

ponekad vidimo mlade koralje koji pristižu na svijet i opstaju unatoč svemu.

And we're starting to think that baby corals may have the ability

Počinjemo pretpostavljati da mladi koralji možda imaju mogućnost

to adjust to some of the conditions that the adults couldn't.

prolagodbe uvijetima kojima se stariji nisu mogli prilagoditi.

They may be able to adjust

Možda se mogu prilagoditi

ever so slightly more readily to this human planet.

tek toliko malo bolje ovom planetu.

So in the research I do with my colleagues in Curaçao,

U istraživanju na kojem radim sa svojim kolegama u Curaçau

we try to figure out what a baby coral needs

pokušavamo shvatiti što je mladim koraljima potrebno

in that critical early stage,

u najranijem stadiju,

what it's looking for

što traže

and how we can try to help it through that process.

i kako im možemo pomoći u tome.

I'm going to show you three examples of the work we've done

Pokazat ću vam tri primjera što smo učinili

to try to answer those questions.

kako bismo odgovorili na ta pitanja.

A few years ago we took a 3D printer and we made coral choice surveys --

Prije nekoliko godina uzeli smo 3D printer i napravili istraživanje izbora –

different colors and different textures,

različitih boja i različitih tekstura,

and we simply asked the coral where they preferred to settle.

i jednostavno pitali koralj gdje bi se najradije nastanili.

And we found that corals, even without the biology involved,

Otkrili smo da koralji, čak i bez prisustva života,

still prefer white and pink, the colors of a healthy reef.

i dalje preferiraju bijelu i rozu, boje zdravog grebena.

And they prefer crevices and grooves and holes,

Preferiraju pukotine, žlijebove i rupe,

where they will be safe from being trampled

gdje će biti sigurni od gaženja

or eaten by a predator.

ili napada grabežljivaca.

So we can use this knowledge,

Možemo koristiti ovo znanje,

we can go back and say we need to restore those factors --

možemo reći da moramo vratiti ove čimbenike –

that pink, that white, those crevices, those hard surfaces --

tu rozu, tu bijelu, one pukotine, čvrste površine –

in our conservation projects.

u naše projekte čuvanja okoliša.

We can also use that knowledge

Također možemo iskoristiti znanje

if we're going to put something underwater, like a sea wall or a pier.

ako ćemo graditi neki lukobran ili mol.

We can choose to use the materials and colors and textures

Možemo koristiti te materijale, boje i teksture

that might bias the system back toward those corals.

koje mogu ponovo učiniti okoliš prigodnim za rast koralja.

Now in addition to the surfaces,

Uz površine,

we also study the chemical and microbial signals

proučavamo i kemijske i mikrobiološke signale

that attract corals to reefs.

koji privlače koralje grebenima.

Starting about six years ago, I began culturing bacteria

Prije 6 godina sam počela kultivirati bakterije

from surfaces where corals had settled.

s površina na kojima su se koralji nastanili.

And I tried those one by one by one,

I isprobala sam jednu po jednu,

looking for the bacteria that would convince corals to settle and attach.

tražeći bakteriju koja bi uvjerila koralje da se nasele i pričvrste.

And we now have many bacterial strains in our freezer

Sad imamo brojne bakterijske vrste u zamrzivaču

that will reliably cause corals

koje pouzdano potiču koralje

to go through that settlement and attachment process.

na naseljavanje i pričvršćivanje.

So as we speak,

Ovog trenutka,

my colleagues in Curaçao are testing those bacteria

moje kolege u Curaçau testiraju te bakterije

to see if they'll help us raise more coral settlers in the lab,

kako bi vidjeli mogu li nam pomoći u uzgoju koralja u laboratoriju,

and to see if those coral settlers will survive better

i hoće li ti koralji bolje preživjeti

when we put them back underwater.

kad ih vratimo u vodu.

Now in addition to these tools, we also try to uncover the mysteries

Uz te alate, također pokušavamo otkriti tajne

of species that are under-studied.

vrsta koje nisu dovoljno izučene.

This is one of my favorite corals, and always has been:

Ovo je jedan od mojih najdražih koralja, i uvijek je bio:

dendrogyra cylindrus, the pillar coral.

Dendrogyra cylindrus

I love it because it makes this ridiculous shape,

Volim ga jer ima ovaj smiješan oblik,

because its tentacles are fat and look fuzzy

jer su mu krakovi debeli i mekani

and because it's rare.

i jer je rijedak.

Finding one of these on a reef is a treat.

Zadovoljstvo ga je naći na grebenu.

In fact, it's so rare,

Toliko je rijedak,

that last year it was listed as a threatened species

da je prošle godine proglašen ranjivom vrstom

on the endangered species list.

na listi ugroženih vrsta.

And this was in part because in over 30 years of research surveys,

Jedan od razloga za to je taj što u 30 godina istraživanja

scientists had never found a baby pillar coral.

znanstvenici nikad nisu našli mladog koralja.

We weren't even sure if they could still reproduce,

Uopće nismo bili sigurni mogu li se razmnožavati,

or if they were still reproducing.

ili razmnožavaju li se još uvijek.

So four years ago, we started following these at night

Prije četiri godine, počeli smo ih pratiti noću

and watching to see if we could figure out when they spawn in Curaçao.

u nadi da ćemo saznati kad se mrijeste u Curaçau.

We got some good tips from our colleagues in Florida,

Dobili smo dobre savjete od kolega s Floride,

who had seen one in 2007, one in 2008,

koji su vidjeli mlado 2007. i 2008.,

and eventually we figured out when they spawn in Curaçao

konačno smo saznali kad se mrijeste u Curaçau

and we caught it.

i vidjeli smo ga.

Here's a female on the left with some eggs in her tissue,

Lijevo je ženka s jajašcima u tkivu,

about to release them into the seawater.

uskoro će ih ispustiti u vodu.

And here's a male on the right, releasing sperm.

Ovdje je mužjak desno, otpušta spermu,

We collected this, we got it back to the lab, we got it to fertilize

Skupili smo to, odnijeli natrag u laboratorij, omogućili oplodnju,

and we got baby pillar corals swimming in our lab.

i mladi koralji plivaju u našem laboratoriju.

Thanks to the work of our scientific aunts and uncles,

Zahvaljujući radu naših znanstvenih ujaka i tetki,

and thanks to the 10 years of practice we've had in Curaçao

zahvaljujući desetogodišnjoj praksi koju smo imali u Curaçau

at raising other coral species,

u uzgajanju drugih vrsta koralja,

we got some of those larvae to go through the rest of the process

uspjeli smo u tome da neke od ličinki prođu ostatak procesa,

and settle and attach,

nastane se i pričvrste,

and turn into metamorphosed corals.

i pretvore u metamorfozirane koralje.

So this is the first pillar coral baby that anyone ever saw.

Ovo je prvo mlado tog koralja koje je itko ikada vidio.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

And I have to say -- if you think baby pandas are cute,

I moram reći – ako mislite da su mlade pande slatke,

this is cuter.

ovo je slađe.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So we're starting to figure out the secrets to this process,

Počinjemo shvaćati tajne ovog procesa,

the secrets of coral reproduction and how we might help them.

tajne razmnožavanja koralja i kako im možemo pomoći.

And this is true all around the world;

Ovo je istina diljem svijeta;

scientists are figuring out new ways to handle their embryos,

znanstvenici nalaze nove načine rada s embrijima

to get them to settle,

kako bi se nastanili,

maybe even figuring out the methods to preserve them at low temperatures,

možda čak i pronalazak načina za prezervaciju na niskim temperaturama,

so that we can preserve their genetic diversity

kako bismo sačuvali njihovu genetsku raznolikost

and work with them more often.

i radili s njima češće.

But this is still so low-tech.

Ali ovo je i dalje neusavršena tehnologija.

We are limited by the space on our bench, the number of hands in the lab

Ograničeni smo količinom prostora na stolu, brojem ruku u laboratoriju

and the number of coffees we can drink in any given hour.

i brojem kava koje možemo popiti.

Now, compare that to our other crises

Usporedimo to s drugim krizama

and our other areas of concern as a society.

i drugim područjima od interesa za naše društvo

We have advanced medical technology, we have defense technology,

Imamo naprednu tehnologiju u medicini, tehnologiju za obranu,

we have scientific technology,

znanstvenu tehnologiju,

we even have advanced technology for art.

imamo čak i naprednu tehnologiju za umjetnost.

But our technology for conservation is behind.

Ail tehnologija za konzervaciju zaostaje.

Think back to the most difficult job you ever did.

Sjetite se najtežeg posla kojeg ste ikada radili.

Many of you would say it was being a parent.

Mnogi će od vas spomenuti roditeljstvo.

My mother described being a parent

Moja je majka opisala roditeljstvo

as something that makes your life far more amazing and far more difficult

kao nešto što tvoj život čini daleko više nevjerojatnim i daleko težim

than you could've ever possibly imagined.

nego što bi uopće mogao pomisliti.

I've been trying to help corals become parents for over 10 years now.

Pokušavam pomoći koraljima da postanu roditelji već više od 10 godina.

And watching the wonder of life

I gledajući čudo života

has certainly filled me with amazement to the core of my soul.

zasigurno me ispunilo zadivljenošću do srži moje duše.

But I've also seen how difficult it is for them to become parents.

Ali također sam vidjela koliko im je teško postati roditeljima.

The pillar corals spawned again two weeks ago,

Koralji su se mrijestili ponovo prije tjedan dana,

and we collected their eggs and brought them back to the lab.

prikupili smo jajašca i donijeli ih natrag u laboratorij.

And here you see one embryo dividing,

Ovdje vidite jedan embrij u diobi,

alongside 14 eggs that didn't fertilize

pored 14 jajašaca koja nisu oplođena

and will blow up.

i koja će se napuhati.

They'll be infected with bacteria, they will explode

Postat će inficirani bakterijama eksplodirat će

and those bacteria will threaten the life of this one embryo

i te će bakterije ugroziti život ovog jednog embrija

that has a chance.

koji ima šansu.

We don't know if it was our handling methods that went wrong

Ne znamo jesu li zakazale naše metode rukovanja

and we don't know

i ne znamo

if it was just this coral on this reef, always suffering from low fertility.

pati li samo ovaj koralj na ovom grebenu od niske plodnosti.

Whatever the cause,

Koji god uzrok bio,

we have much more work to do before we can use baby corals

imamo još mnogo posla prije nego ćemo moći koristiti mlade koralje

to grow or fix or, yes, maybe save coral reefs.

kako bismo uzgajali, popravili ili, da, možda spasili koraljne grebene.

So never mind that they're worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Zanemarimo da su vrijedni stotine milijardi dolara,

Coral reefs are hardworking animals and plants and microbes and fungi.

Koralji su marljive životinje, i biljke, i mikrobi, i alge.

They're providing us with art and food and medicine.

Pružaju nam umjetnost, hranu, lijekove.

And we almost took out an entire generation of corals.

A mi smo gotovo uništili cijelu generaciju koralja.

But a few made it anyway, despite our best efforts,

Ali nekolicina je svejedno uspjela, unatoč našim pokušajima,

and now it's time for us to thank them for the work they did

i sada je vrijeme da im zahvalimo na njihovom trudu

and give them every chance they have to raise the coral reefs of the future,

i da im damo svaku šansu da podignu koraljne grebene budućnosti

their coral babies.

svoje mlade koralje.

Thank you so much.

Hvala vam puno.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)