Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo has been a member of SECORE since 2004.
From 2006 to 2008 the Zoo has sent representatives to the SECORE workshops in Puerto Rico, resulting in the successful rearing of over 3000 colonies of the threatened Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) and the distribution of thousands of colonies to other SECORE members.

Mitch Carl, Curator Aquatics at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo:

'After working with corals for over ten years I was looking for something different. I became a member of SECORE for the challenge.'

Carl has been an enthousiastic attendant of all SECORE workshops sofar.

Forefront of conservation

Mitch Carl is proud that his institute houses the largest collection of the Elkhorn coral from the SECORE workshops in Puerto Rico.

'We wanted to be a part of SECORE due to it's commitment to conservation', he says. 'Our Zoo has always tried to be at the forefront of conservation. We have projects going around the world and this is a great way to get involved in coral conservation.'

Besides participating in de SECORE workshops, Carl and his colleagues give lectures around the USA about their work with the project.

Not easy

Working with Elkhorn coral is not easy, Mitch Carl admits.

'Through the dedication it took to raise the larvae we collected in Puerto Rico during the SECORE workshops, we learned quite a bit about what it takes to raise these tricky corals to good size colonies', he says.

The Omaha Zoo has dedicated two systems behind the scenes for SECORE breeding and coral research. Other tanks are used for asexual propagation of corals from the Pacific.

SECORE corals in public display

Because of the success in rearing Elkhorn coral, the Omaha Zoo has redisigned one of their public displays from the Pacific to the Caribbean, highlighting the stony and soft corals of the shallow waters where Elkhorn coral is found.

The exhibit informs the public about the threats that the corals are facing and how the Zoo is trying to help conserve coral through participating in SECORE.

Pacific exhibits

The Omaha Zoo also houses pacific exhibits. These cover subjects such as symbiosis (i.e. anemones and clownfish), 'Ocean Oddities' (fish and corals with an unusual appearance or behaviour) and the fast growing Acropora corals of the Pacific.

_{Photos: courtesy of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo}