Laura is a science news writer, covering a wide variety of subjects, but she is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma.
As ocean temperatures continue to soar, the world’s coral reefs all over the world are in danger from climate change, disease, and destructive human activities. In response, scientists are testing various ways to help, from intentionally bleaching them to preserve fragments to coloring their larvae to study reproduction, and transplanting coral fragments to regrow damaged reefs.
The Ocean Agency The Mars program is working to restore degraded reefs by transplanting these coral fragments onto a network of interconnected structures called Reef Stars. These sand-coated steel frames that help keep them in place. A team from the University of Exeter collaborated with the Research Center for Oceanography, National Research and Innovation Agency in Indonesia, Mars Sustainable Solutions, and Lancaster University to monitor reef carbonate budgets as the Reef Stars were planted.
The Ocean Agency After planting the Reef Stars, the team measured the carbonate budgets on the restored reef sites after a few months, one year, two years, and four years. These measurements gave them a sense of the rate that the reef’s functions were returning to normal. To compare, they also measured the carbonate budgets of degraded reefs and healthy control sites. In the years after coral transplantation, coral cover, colony size, and carbonate production tripled, according to the study.
Ines Lange However, the composition of the reef community on the restoration site in this study was different from what usually makes up a healthy coral community. This is because the transplanted coral fragments were a mix of different branching coral types. The community composition may affect how well the reef’s structure holds up for some larger marine species and the resilience to future heat waves, since branching corals are more sensitive to bleaching.
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