US (FL): Tampa and Havana aquariums to develop coral greenhouse

Three Cuban scientists were in Tampa last week to take another step forward in their joint effort with the Florida Aquarium to save coral reefs dying throughout the Caribbean region that includes this state.

Employees of Havana's National Aquarium of Cuba spent Feb. 5 through Feb. 11 working with their Tampa counterparts on designs for a greenhouse to be built in Cuba that will serve as an ark to grow and maintain coral in a controlled environment.

Once that science is mastered, the coral would then be replanted in waters to restore the reefs.

There is no cost estimate for the project or timeline for its completion.

"This is a three-year plan," said Margo McKnight, vice president of biological operations at the Florida Aquarium. "By then we hope to have them designed, funded and built."

The Florida Aquarium has one such greenhouse in Apollo Beach that cost $420,000 to build and outfit. But Cuba's will differ due to the island's more humid tropical climate, McKnight said. Rather than a typical glass greenhouse structure like the one in Apollo Beach, Havana's will have concrete walls with a translucent canopy.

Read more at TBO.com