Coral Reef - Restoration

Restoration

Coral aquaculture, also known as coral farming or coral gardening, is showing promise as a potentially effective tool for restoring coral reefs, which have been declining around the world. The process bypasses the early growth stages of corals when they are most at risk of dying. Coral seeds are grown in nurseries, then replanted on the reef. Coral is farmed by coral farmers who live locally to the reefs and farm for reef conservation or for income.

Efforts to expand the size and number of coral reefs generally involve supplying substrate to allow more corals to find a home. Substrate materials include discarded vehicle tires, scuttled ships, subway cars, and formed concrete, such as reef balls. Reefs also grow unaided on marine structures such as oil rigs. In large restoration projects, propagated hermatypic coral on substrate can be secured with metal pins, superglue or milliput. Needle and thread can also attach A-hermatype coral to substrate.

Low-voltage electrical currents applied through seawater crystallize dissolved minerals onto steel structures. The resultant white carbonate (aragonite) is the same mineral that makes up natural coral reefs. Corals rapidly colonize and grow at accelerated rates on these coated structures. The electrical currents also accelerate formation and growth of both chemical limestone rock and the skeletons of corals and other shell-bearing organisms. The vicinity of the anode and cathode provides a high-pH environment which inhibits the growth of competitive filamentous and fleshy algae. The increased growth rates fully depend on the accretion activity.

During accretion, the settled corals display an increased growth rate, size and density, but after the process is complete, growth rate and density return to levels comparable to natural growth, and are about the same size or slightly smaller.

One case study with coral reef restoration was conducted on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The University of Hawaii has come up with a Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program to help relocate and restore coral reefs in Hawaii. A boat channel on the island of Oahu to the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology was overcrowded with coral reefs. Also, many areas of coral reef patches in the channel had been damaged from past dredging in the channel. Dredging covers the existing corals with sand, and their larvae cannot build and thrive on sand; they can only build on to existing reefs. Because of this, the University of Hawaii decided to relocate some of the coral reef to a different transplant site. They transplanted them with the help of the United States Army Divers, to a relocation site relatively close to the channel. They observed very little, if any, damage occurred to any of the colonies while they were being transported, and no mortality of coral reefs has been observed on the new transplant site, but they will be continuing to monitor the new transplant site to see how potential environmental impacts (i.e. ocean acidification) will harm the overall reef mortality rate. While trying to attach the coral to the new transplant site, they found the coral placed on hard rock is growing considerably well, and coral was even growing on the wires that attached the transplant corals to the transplant site. This gives new hope to future research on coral reef transplant sites. As a result of this coral restoration project, no environmental effects were seen from the transplantation process, no recreational activities were decreased, and no scenic areas were affected by the project. This is a great example that coral transplantation and restoration can work and thrive under the right conditions, which means there may be hope for other damaged coral reefs.

Another possibility for coral restoration is gene therapy. Through infecting coral with genetically modified bacteria, it may be possible to grow corals that are more resistant to climate change and other threats.