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.
According to a study published March 8 in the journal Current Biology, planting new coral in some degraded reefs can help it grow just as quickly as healthy reefs after only four years. The study was conducted at the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, one of the biggest reef restoration projects in the world.
[Related: World’s largest known deep-sea coral reef is bigger than Vermont.]
“Large areas of reefs in South Sulawesi have been destroyed by destructive dynamite fishing 30 to 40 years ago,” Ines D. Lange, a study co-author and marine biologist at the University of Exeter, tells PopSci. “The degraded areas have not recovered since, as loose coral fragments rolling around on the ground crush any new coral larvae that try to settle.”
Dynamite or blast fishing is an illegal practice where explosives are thrown into the water to stun or kill fish. Coral reef species can pay a hefty price, as the blasts can loosen coral fragments and the indiscriminate killing of anything nearby disrupts the food web.
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…
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