The Florida Keys ecosystem is an endangered habitat in Florida that is in critical condition but still has a chance to live. Since 1990 the Florida Keys national marine sanctuary has worked on conservation and sustaining the environment. Florida Keys supports more than 6,000 known species and it would be terrible to lose. Protecting the Florida Keys supports more than 33,000 jobs. It also accounts for 58% of the local economy.
Summary: A study from the University of Gothenburg shows that asexual marine organisms have mechanisms that delay aging. Some plants and animals that reproduce asexually can achieve eternal life. An example of this is coral that is tens of thousands of years old. Helen Nilsson Sköld who is a marine biologist at the university of Gothenburg studies starfish and sea squirts. She found out that they can remove bacteria and other bad stuff from their cells. She also found out that older parts of the sea squirts are broken down and are partially recycled to create new parts. Some starfish reproduce asexually by tearing themselves apart while others produce sexually. All types of starfish can reconstruct their body if they lose a part of it. The starfish that reproduce asexually have better health and live a lot longer than starfish that produce sexually. The starfish that reproduce asexually have a very similar genetic design so if there was a climate change a lot of them would die.
What you found most interesting about the article and why:
I thought it was interesting that organisms that reproduce asexually can achieve eternal life. I also thought it was cool how they could discard junk from their cells easily. Another thing that I found interesting was that some starfish reproduce asexually and others reproduce sexually. Even if starfish reproduce different ways they can still grow body parts back.
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