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Admin on 20 July, 2024
Novel Reef Transplant Method Reverses Coral Decline, Say Israeli, Australian Researchers
Jerusalem, 25 November, 2024 (TPS-IL) -- Offering new hope in combating the rapid decline of coral reefs worldwide, Israeli and Australian scientists unveiled a transformative method to restore coral health by transplanting vibrant reef ecosystems to damaged areas.
Although coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they support approximately 25% of all marine species, including fish, invertebrates, and other organisms that depend on reefs for food, shelter, and breeding grounds. Reefs also act as natural breakwaters, absorbing wave energy and reducing coastal erosion. In addition, coral reefs contribute to carbon cycling by sequestering carbon in their limestone structures.
Yet they face unprecedented threats from, pollution, overfishing and climate change — particularly “coral bleaching,” which occurs as ocean temperatures rise.
Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, working in collaboration with the Technion Institute in Haifa and Prof. David Bourne of James Cook Uni University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Queensland demonstrated for the first time that transplanting an entire healthy reef ecosystem — complete with its invertebrates and beneficial microbes — can significantly enhance the health and resilience of corals on damaged reefs.
This holistic approach differs from prior methods that focused solely on coral fragments or artificial structures without considering the surrounding ecosystem, the researchers said.
“This innovative approach underscores the critical role of healthy reef ecosystems in restoring coral health and resilience,” said Dr. Natalie Levy, one of the lead researchers. “The results highlight the potential of ecosystem transplantation as an effective, sustainable restoration tool that can be integrated with other coral restoration methods like coral gardening and artificial reefs.”
The study’s findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Nature Communications journal.
The method, termed the “coral reef ecosystem transplant” (aCRET), involves transferring biomimetic terracotta tiles embedded with a diverse community of invertebrates and beneficial microorganisms from a healthy reef to a damaged one. The tiles were meticulously designed to mimic the intricate 3D structure of natural coral reefs, offering an optimal habitat for various organisms to flourish.
Corals from the damaged site were then attached to these tiles, fostering an environment conducive to recovery.
The study recorded marked improvements in coral health, including enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, higher populations of symbiotic algae, and reduced stress levels, underscoring the method’s potential to boost coral resilience and functionality.
After six months, they were then transported to a damaged reef six kilometers away.
Six months post-transplantation, corals on the aCRET tiles showed significant recovery compared to counterparts grown on tiles sourced from the degraded reef. A parallel experiment confirmed the superiority of this method, as transferring substrate from a damaged reef to a healthy one yielded suboptimal results.
The study suggests that aCRET could become a versatile, cost-effective solution for coral restoration worldwide, particularly in regions under environmental duress. However, researchers stress the importance of selecting local reefs for transplantation to optimize success and called for further long-term studies to understand the ecological impacts across different coral species and reef settings.
“This research advances our understanding of coral restoration and provides an invaluable tool to tackle the ongoing global coral crisis,” said co-research leader Prof. Oren Levy. “By leveraging healthy ecosystems to regenerate damaged reefs, we are laying the foundation for more resilient coral ecosystems capable of withstanding future challenges.”
