35. Marine Biotechnology: Part I.1 The Oceans: An Overtapped Source and Aquaculture for the Future

• published: 12 Apr 2012
• views: 1345

Marine Biotechnology The Oceans are vast resource covering two thirds of the planet with untold numbers of organisms, many of which have never been discovered. But, oceans, like terrestrial and atmospheric environments are being heavily impacted by humans. Over ¼ (25%) of mammals on the planet are now in danger of extinction in your lifetime...37% of these are marine. From habitat destruction, loss of ecology from microorganisms to the top of the food chain, overfishing, pollution, and climate change humans are impacting the oceans. Fish are one of the only human foods consumed in vast amounts from the wild. How long can this go on? There used to be large numbers of Atlantic cod off the coast of New England. History with other species has shown that we will harvest them until they are gone. Some whale species number in the hundreds now. Coral reefs are experiencing bleaching and destruction. How can we use biotechnology and advanced aquaculture to make a sustainable fishery that is analogous to land based agriculture? however, there are also resources in the ocean that have not yet been discovered, that may pose solutions to other problems, providing resources such as new drugs and antibiotics. We are in a crisis. Actually we are in more than a single crises. The human population crises has given rise to many other crises through its ramifications. From habitat destruction, loss of ecology from microorganisms to the top of the food chain, overfishing, pollution, and climate change humans are hugely impacting the oceans. What are the solutions? This lectures explore The Blue Revolution-a revolution in the ocean sciences that has now begun, with the application of the modern tools of biotechnology, molecular and cellular biology to marine organisms and ecosystems. The change is expected to be fundamental in nature, exponential in pace and unprecedented in its scientific and economic impact . . . within a decade, quantum leaps will have been made, not just in the amount of knowledge, but in the types of insights into the fundamental and longstanding problems of ocean sciences. By: Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri, University of Rhode Island; Dr. Terrance Bradley, University of Rhode Island; Albert Kausch, University of Rhode Island