The Times - UK (2020-08-07)

32 2GM Friday August 7 2020 | the times

Wo r l d

Florida’s endangered coral reef could
be brought back from the brink of
extinction, marine biologists said yes-
terday, announcing a breakthrough in
their efforts to produce living species
that reproduce in the water.
Two varieties of coral grown in a
laboratory and transplanted on to a reef
near the Florida Keys have shown signs
that they are about to reproduce in the
spawning season that begins each
August, usually after a full moon.
The two varieties, mountainous star
and branching staghorn, were engi-
neered using a technique that acceler-
ated their growth, the Mote Marine
Laboratory said. The mountainous star

horn corals grown in the laboratory,

which were planted between 2016 and

2018, were also preparing to spawn, a

feat observed only once before.

“It was a great surprise to see that

The world’s first museum dedicated to
human rights has sunk further into
crisis after a damning external review
found “pervasive and systemic” racism
at the institution.
The Canadian Museum for Human
Rights was already dogged by com-
plaints of sexual harassment, and racist
and homophobic behaviour by
managers. The chief executive, John
Young, resigned in June.
An external review completed this
week looks set to further tarnish the
six-year-old Winnipeg museum, which
has a mandate to “build understanding,
promote respect and encourage
reflection”.
“Racism within the Canadian
Museum for Human Rights is pervasive

Hanna Koch said that she had seen

signs of hope for the coral reefs

Coral grown in lab is thriving on reef

United States
Will Pavia New York

coral were “outplanted” in 2015 on a

reef near Cook Island, on the Lower

Keys at the southernmost tip of Florida.

Before this year’s spawn, in which

entire colonies release eggs and sperm

in a blizzard, a scientist from the labora-

tory held nightly dives to assess the

state of her specimens. The laboratory

said it appeared that they were going to

join in.

Hanna Koch, its reproduction

specialist, said that she had seen eggs

and sperm in the corals, ready to be re-

leased. The laboratory said that these

were the first known corals “of any mas-

sive or mounding species that have

been documented” to be sexually

mature after being restored in Florida

or Caribbean waters.

The laboratory added that the stag-

Mote’s outplants are sexually mature,”

Dr Koch said. “I have been monitoring

them for several summers now but we

have a lot of stressors on our reefs, in-

cluding temperature stress, and bleach-

ing, hurricanes and disease, so I wasn’t

sure if our corals would have the addi-

tional energy required to put towards

sexual development.”

They appeared resilient, she said.

“We are eagerly awaiting to observe

them spawn this month or next.”

Researchers at the Florida Aquarium

are due to announce a similar break-

through involving pillar corals, another

threatened species.

The aquarium said that its research-

ers had spawned the coral for the

second year in a row “through lab

induced techniques”. The Mote Marine

Laboratory said it had used a method in

which corals are broken into tiny frag-

ments that are grown separately and

then encouraged to join together.

Using this technique, corals that can

take decades to reach sexual maturity

were found to become capable of

spawning after five years.

The breakthrough was billed as a

milestone in the effort to restore reefs

damaged by pollution, disease and the

warming of the oceans.

“Dr Koch’s finding is proof that this

method works and that we can produce

reproductively viable corals of slow-

growing coral species in only a handful

of years,” a spokeswoman for the labo-

ratory said. “This provides hope for

bringing back Florida’s coral reef from

the brink of functional extinction.”

A

s protesters

mustered in

Portland to

demonstrate

against police

brutality and racial

injustice, a hero of the

movement whose gentle

demeanour has won

admirers on both sides

of the barricades was

more than ready to join

them (Will Pavia

writes). Known as

Caesar, he is 5ft 8 with

dark eyes and a floppy

fringe. He is also a

llama.

Larry McCool, who

keeps 15 llamas on his

farm in Oregon, said

that Caesar was a

therapy llama who

visited schools and

nursing homes and was

comfortable in a crowd.

Before the protests that

followed the killing of

George Floyd, Caesar

had been involved in

marches for women’s

rights and gay pride,

Mr McCool, 66, said.

“He is quite an activist.”

The Black Lives

Matter demonstrations

have cemented his fame

and he has become

known as “Caesar the

No Drama Llama”.

Mr McCool says that

when the protesters “are

chanting and stomping

and yelling and blowing

horns” Caesar appears

to calm everybody.

“It slows everything

down,” he said. “But

it doesn’t detract from

the message of being

there.”

Matthew Parris, the

Times columnist who

keeps llamas, said that

they had a good bedside

manner. “Like the best

therapists, they say

nothing — and for all we

know understand

nothing — but always

appear to be listening in

the most attentive and

sympathetic manner,”

he said. Each llama is

different, he added.

Some are huggable,

while others are aloof.

“My Vera is self-

isolating, my Lynn’s a

darling.”

Mr McCool agreed.

Not all llamas could

stand so long in one

spot. But Caesar was a

draw at protests.

Admirers hug him.

Police officers take

pictures. An artist even

drew his portrait.

Llama is taking the

drama out of protests

Caesar, the star of

Portland, stands with Larry

McCool as they join a

solemn moment of silence

CAESAR THE NO DRAMA LLAMA/FACEBOOK; ALEX MILAN TRACY/SIPA/PA

Seeds from China may be

part of fake review scam

sender uses the recipient’s name to set

up an account on an online sales

platform.

Sending the item means that the

recipient appears to have placed an

order, making their five-star reviews

“verified”. This causes the platform’s

algorithms to push the seller higher up

in search results, and makes it harder to

weed out the fake reviews.

Alarmingly, this suggests that the

group behind the scam has at least

some of its victims’ personal data.

The department said it was still col-

lecting seed samples. Its researchers

have identified at least 14 types, includ-

ing cabbages, roses, hibiscus and var-

ious herbs. It has continued to advise

people not to plant the seeds.

Racism ‘rife’ at human rights museum

and systemic,” Laurelle Harris, a Winni-

peg lawyer, wrote in the report, which

offers 44 recommendations for change.

“Black, indigenous and people of colour

have been adversely impacted physical-

ly, emotionally and financially by their

experiences within the institution.”

Pauline Rafferty, chairwoman of the

museum, said: “It is clear many people

have been adversely impacted by

racism, homophobia and other forms of

discrimination within the museum,

and we apologise unreservedly.”

The scandal erupted in June as Black

Lives Matter protests swept North

America. Dozens of staff members

shared stories of racism, discrimination,

homophobia and sexual harassment.

The museum admitted that between

2015 and 2017 staff were ordered to

censor LGBTQ content on tours for

religious school groups, donors and

important guests. In one case, an

LGBTQ staff member was told to

physically block an exhibit showing

same-sex couples.

Five female employees told the broad-

caster CBC that their claims of sexual

harassment by a single male colleague

had been dismissed by managers. One

former ethnic minority staff member

claimed on social media that a manager

had jokingly urged her to perform a

“rain dance” during a warm summer.

In June, Ms Rafferty said that the al-

legations had not been brought to the

attention of the trustees. The museum

said that it would put its board through

anti-racist and anti-oppression educa-

tion and set aside at least C$250,000

(£141,000) for similar programmes.

The museum was established by law

in 2008 and opened in 2014 at an

estimated cost of £207 million.

Will Pavia

Canada
Charlie Mitchell Ottawa

When people all over the US started to

receive small parcels of seeds from

China, there were fears that the

unsolicited deliveries represented a

new front in the two nations’ cold war.

The Department of Agriculture said

the parcels might contain an invasive

weed or a plant disease. Officials told

recipients to send the packets, un-

opened, to federal offices in their state.

Now, however, there are reports of

other unexpected goods, including

sunglasses and whistles, arriving from

China. A woman in upstate New York

reported being sent “used” socks.

The department now has a new

theory: a “brushing scam”, in which the