By now, most of us have heard that coral reefs around the world are in serious trouble. While employing conservation strategies is definitely appropriate, a new method for creating reef structures may help slow the pace of reef decline.
A New Way to Protect Coral Reefs
Coral reefs – all our lives depend on them. As reefs are declining at an alarming rate, scientists everywhere are working overtime trying to come up with ways to help damaged reefs make a comeback.
Our reefs have been damaged in a variety of ways. Dynamite fishing and other destructive fishing practices have taken their toll; yet, so have the effects of global warming, ocean acidification, crown of thorns starfish, and other known threats to coral health. Marine biologists are building up repositories of coral DNA for future generations, and others are grafting living coral onto old reefs. Still others are using a strategy people have been employing for thousands of years; that is, they are creating artificial reefs.
There are many different types of artificial reefs. From Neptune Memorial Reef in Florida, to Jason de Caires Taylor’s underwater sculpture gardens, to the multitude of shipwrecks that attract divers – and marine life – in droves, just about anything that can be sunk into the water in a way that won’t adversely affect the environment can be crafted into an artificial reef. This is because calcium carbonate, which is coral’s key ingredient, will accrete to nearly any other substance, from rock to metal to concrete, and everything in between. Some artificial reef structures have a tendency to attract less diversity though; that’s where a reef building method called the biorock method comes in.
This method was developed by marine biologist Tom Goreau and architect/marine scientist Wolf Hilbertz. The two discovered that by running a slight electrical current through salty sea water, a shell of hard calcium carbonate would form on the electric cathode. After the calcium carbonate deposit became strong enough, small pieces of living coral could be affixed to the structure.
The corals seem to love the way the biorock method works, probably since it mimics natural calcium carbonate deposits so well. Researchers found that corals attached to biorock grow at rates as much as five times faster than they do when affixed to other artificial reef surfaces.
There are over twenty biorock artificial reef projects currently in place at reef sites throughout the world. In Indonesia, one of the reef projects consisting of a group of 62 biorock structures is doing an outstanding job of attracting a wide array of marine life; smaller structures are being added to constantly, and are also boosting biodiversity in areas where naturally occurring reefs have been destroyed. Some special biorock installations are even being put in place in front of dive shops, helping to take pressure off natural reefs while enabling new divers to view underwater life in a way that doesn’t put natural coral formations at risk. Sculptures of animals, manta rays, dolphins, and all sorts of fantastic things are being made with biorock, and as the trend catches on, the sights we’ll see are certain to become even more fantastic.
In merging conservation with art, and in boosting coral production to combat the destruction of natural reef structure, the biorock project is accomplishing a number of necessary functions. Not only is the project an excellent method for conserving fish and other marine life, these beautiful, innovative reef structures attract divers, who contribute to local economies. They also protect coastlines from erosion, and maybe most important, they help people learn about the importance of protecting the fragile little life forms that we call coral.