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哥斯达黎加南部加勒比海岸的研究者首次在国内实验室成功培育珊瑚幼体，并将近百万枚受精胚胎放回曼萨尼略礁区。本文说明性繁殖与传统切块克隆的差异，以及社区参与对珊瑚恢复的意义。

正文

Researchers on Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean coast have raised coral larvae in a laboratory for the first time in the country. They returned nearly one million fertilized embryos to the reef at Manzanillo. The work was led by the conservation group Raising Coral Costa Rica and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.

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哥斯达黎加南部加勒比海岸的研究者首次在国内实验室培育出珊瑚幼体，并将近一百万枚受精胚胎送回曼萨尼略的珊瑚礁。这项工作由保护组织 Raising Coral Costa Rica，以及加州大学圣地亚哥分校斯克里普斯海洋学研究所共同主导。

The team set up a temporary lab at the visitor center of the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge in August and September. Corals spawned heavily on the nights of September 3 and 4, releasing eggs and sperm into the water. About 20 people collected the spawn with nets placed over the colonies. Researchers then mixed eggs and sperm from different colonies. The species included elkhorn coral, which is critically endangered, and knobby brain coral.

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团队于八九月在甘多卡—曼萨尼略国家野生动物保护区游客中心搭建了临时实验室。珊瑚在9月3日和4日夜间大量产卵，把卵和精子释放到海水中。约20人用罩在珊瑚群体上的网收集卵子与精子，研究者再将来自不同群体的卵和精子混合受精。涉及的物种包括处于极度濒危状态的鹿角珊瑚，以及多节脑珊瑚。

Beyond the embryos released onto the reef, the team raised tens of thousands of larvae in the lab. Hundreds settled into young coral polyps and were moved to Manzanillo’s coral nursery. The remaining larvae were released at the end of the season. The method matters because cutting fragments from existing corals, the technique behind most nursery work, produces clones. Breeding from spawning mixes genetic material from different parents. That diversity may help new corals withstand disease and warmer oceans.

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除放回礁区的胚胎外，团队还在实验室培育了数万条幼体。数百个幼体附着后长成幼小珊瑚虫，并被移入曼萨尼略的珊瑚苗圃；季节结束时，其余幼体也被放归。方法之所以重要，是因为从现有珊瑚切取碎片——多数苗圃工作采用的技术——会产生克隆。而通过产卵繁殖，可以把不同亲本的遗传物质混合起来。这种多样性可能帮助新珊瑚抵御疾病和更暖的海洋。

The milestone comes three years after Raising Coral documented the first known spawning of elkhorn coral in Costa Rica at the same site in 2023. The hardest step is getting larvae to settle and survive. The team is studying naturally occurring reef bacteria that may trigger settlement. It plans to place those bacteria in soft gels that can coat surfaces on natural reefs and repair structures.

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这一里程碑出现在三年之后：Raising Coral 曾于2023年在同一地点记录到哥斯达黎加已知的首次鹿角珊瑚产卵。最难的一步，是让幼体附着并存活。团队正在研究可能触发附着的天然礁区细菌，并计划把这些细菌放入柔软的凝胶中，用于覆盖天然礁体和修复结构的表面。

Local residents played a central role. The Manzanillo community development association, refuge staff, national conservation agencies, boat captains, dive instructors, educators, coral farmers and volunteers all took part. Students from a local school visited the lab and helped release larvae into the sea. A park worker who joined the project said it gave her new hope for reefs in the region.

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当地居民发挥了核心作用。曼萨尼略社区发展协会、保护区工作人员、国家保护机构、船船长、潜水教练、教育工作者、珊瑚养殖者和志愿者都参与其中。一所本地学校的学生参观了实验室，并帮助把幼体放回大海。一位参与项目的公园工作人员说，这让她对当地珊瑚礁重新抱有希望。

Jose Andres Marin Moraga, who directs Raising Coral’s Caribbean program, said reefs have supported South Caribbean communities for generations. Helping young corals settle, he argued, could mark a turning point in their recovery. Emily North of Scripps, who helped lead the field and lab work, said the health of Manzanillo’s coral populations impressed her after seven years in the Caribbean. The research project is funded by CORDAP and will continue for two more spawning seasons, with experiments aimed at helping more larvae settle and grow.

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负责 Raising Coral 加勒比项目的 José Andrés Marín Moraga 表示，珊瑚礁世代支撑着南部加勒比社区。他认为，帮助幼小珊瑚完成附着，可能成为其恢复的转折点。斯克里普斯的 Emily North 共同指导了野外与实验室工作；她说，在加勒比工作七年后，曼萨尼略珊瑚种群的健康状况令她印象深刻。该研究项目由 CORDAP 资助，还将再持续两个产卵季，并通过实验帮助更多幼体附着并成长。

新闻来源

• The Tico Times · 1 Million Coral Embryos Return to a Costa Rica Reef in a National First
• Delfino.cr · Investigadores logran criar larvas de coral por primera vez en Costa Rica

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