With islands dotted like beads in the shallow waters of Indonesia, extensive experiments in coral reef restoration have revealed something surprising. With a gentle touch and a community that cares for the reef, coral reefs can fully recover from the devastation caused by fishing blasts in just a few hours. Four years.
The Spermonde Islands, located more than a dozen miles off the coast of Indonesia's South Sulawesi island, have long been inhabited by a small population. The world's most dynamic coral reefThere, schools of fish formed rainbows over the coral that covered the ocean floor. But dynamite fishing has turned these wonders into waste. That was until 2018, when academics, government agencies, nonprofits, and local communities came together to restore them with a new approach developed after years of testing and refinement. A team of marine biologists and coral reef ecologists has now published the first in a series of studies investigating the program's success. the study, Published earlier this month in current biologyshows that this method can help rebuild coral reefs in just a few years.
„We've always thought of corals, especially reef corals, as slow-growing ecosystems that take a long time to recover,“ said Rebecca Albright, a coral biologist at the California Academy of Sciences who is not involved in coral reefs. That's exactly what I call it,“ he said. the study. “So it's very encouraging to show that we can return to rapid growth within four years.”
Promoting this renaissance in Sulawesi is particularly important as Sulawesi is located in the center of the Indonesian archipelago and a corner of Indonesia. coral triangle. In this region, especially in Indonesia, The highest concentration of coral reefs and the world's coral habitats. However, many of these vibrant ecosystems have been shattered by large-scale disasters over decades. Fisherman dropping explosives I was able to dive into the water and shake the fish, then scoop them out of the sea. There was little hope for the corals to recover on their own, as loose debris was left rolling in the current. Coral spawning that could settle and grow could be crushed by errant rocks.
To overcome this, Mars Coral Reef Restoration Program – a nonprofit funded by Mars Corporation, known for M&Ms, Twix, and Snickers – brought together restoration experts who have developed something called coral reef star: A six-legged steel spider covered in sand made from coral fragments collected from nearby healthy reefs or found rolling around in the currents. Restoration workers, often members of the local community, place them at dozens of sites. These nests provide the protection and stability necessary for graft growth, while also allowing debris created by blast fishing to settle out. Without such support, researchers believe corals, a strange but essential marine species, may never have returned to the affected areas.
Within a year of placing the reef star, the fragments grew into a colony. By the second year, the branches of neighboring colonies intertwine to form a sea hug. By 2023, the former debris has grown into orange bushels, wide yellow pads, and pink twisted tentacles explored by rows of fluorescent fish.
![Divers install Reef Star on degraded coral reef](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Reef-Stars-are-installed-in-degraded-areas-to-stabilise-loose-rubble-and-kickstart-rapid-coral-growth-2-credit-The-Ocean-Agency.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
![Divers install Reef Star on degraded coral reef](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Reef-Stars-are-installed-in-degraded-areas-to-stabilise-loose-rubble-and-kickstart-rapid-coral-growth-2-credit-The-Ocean-Agency.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
Maritime Agency
Scientific analysis has confirmed what we see. By measuring something called the carbonate budget, this is a way to understand how well a colony can grow its limestone skeleton in the face of erosive forces such as fish. diverThe researchers found that the growth rate at the site, which was established just four years ago, matched that of healthy, undamaged coral growing nearby.
Studying this growth helps scientists understand the extent to which coral reefs serve as key players in healthy ecosystems that provide habitat for marine life. „Her three-dimensional structure of the reef is basically a city where these animals live,“ said Ines Lange, a coral reef ecologist and lead author of the paper. “So providing a three-dimensional structure for active growth is the foundation of this entire ecosystem.”
The rate and status of growth will also determine whether coral reefs can once again be expected to protect coastlines from storm surges and coastal erosion, and whether they will grow fast enough to keep up with sea level rise to continue doing so. I'll make it. The results show that it is not a problem around South Sulawesi.other Recovery effortslike them in the florida keysFor Lange, they tended to bundle several pieces of coral together or scatter them on the ocean floor, which for Lange was „like a tiny little garden.“ However, at the site of the Mars mission, he says, „It's like putting a forest there.''
„I think it was the first time I had ever seen a proper coral reef restoration site,“ she said.
These marine forests are primarily inhabited by branching dendritic corals that sprout from star rows of coral reefs in the shallow waters of the coast. They created a landscape where life thrives, transforming an aquamarine ocean into a technicolor dreamscape. All in all, the method has proven itself, even for those watching the developments from afar.
„The Mars project has set the bar very high for how we can restore coral reefs based on evidence,“ said Lisa Bostrom-Einarson, a coral reef ecologist at the University of Exeter.
Although not involved in this study, Boström Einarsson collaborated with two of the authors on previous papers. Unsurprisingly, despite the great need for coral reef conservation efforts, the world of coral reef conservation remains small.
Compiled by Boström Einnarsson 4 years ago Systematic and comprehensive review She updates information on coral reef restoration projects, which are updated based on the progress of such efforts around the world in recent years. Against this background, after reading Lange's paper, she came to her conclusion: „This is a Golden Rule study on the Golden Rule project.''
![A healthy coral reef on Sulawesi, Indonesia.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-healthy-coral-reef-in-Sulawesi-Indonesia-6-credit-Ines-Lange.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
![A healthy coral reef on Sulawesi, Indonesia.](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-healthy-coral-reef-in-Sulawesi-Indonesia-6-credit-Ines-Lange.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
Ines Lange
Still, Martian reef stars are best suited to places like South Sulawesi, where the trauma is physical.when coral reefs are destroyed Popular fishing or pierced by stranding – of which There is hundreds of every year – This study shows that this device can help heal those injuries with surprising ease.But areas like the Great Barrier Reef are being ravaged by rRepeated bleaching phenomenon that offer Reefs need little reprieve There is only so much you can do to recover.of repeated heat waves Rising temperatures make the water itself hostile to corals.Nevertheless, the Mars program started efforts It was established late last year to adapt its approach to Australia's iconic coral reefs. The types of corals most susceptible to warming are also the types of corals most suited to the Mars method.
In the waters off South Sulawesi, restoration teams preferred branch corals because they make up the majority of healthy reefs in the area and because they grow quickly, Bostrom-Einarson said. was called „weed coral.“but wood-like Acropora Can't tolerate heat like its giant, slow-growing cousins brain coral can; Acropora they are the first ones bleaching When the temperature rises. Therefore, although marine meadows at restoration sites have flourished in recent years, there is still work to be done to make them impact-resistant. warming ocean.
„You can put a lot of coral back in place, but that doesn't mean you're going to build a resilient reef,“ Albright says. “We need diversity.”
Lange said the Mars mission is strengthening ecosystem resilience, transplanting giant corals and providing the surfaces they need to colonize, colonize and mature. This is an area that reflects the responsive approach Bostrom-Einarson said the Mars program has brought to its efforts by listening to scientists, considering their evidence and leveraging their expertise. It's just one of the things.
However, in order to avoid what Bostrom-Einarson calls „scientific colonialism“ (the practice of researchers from well-funded institutions visiting resource-poor areas, collecting data, and then rushing home), the Mars program has built partnerships with local communities and universities. They are involved in everything from building and installing Reef Star to maintaining and monitoring the restoration site, all of which gives them a sense of ownership in the project by making them guardians of the reef.
And that may be one of the most important outcomes of a project like this.After all, coastal communities in places like South Sulawesi most profitable From rebuilding coral reefs to protect coral reefs from disasters storm and the rushing sea What climate change brings. But researchers acknowledged that these restoration efforts are only band-aids. These are no substitute for reducing emissions or mitigating climate change so that coral reefs can escape the never-ending onslaught of bleaching and coral-destroying heat waves.
„We're not saying we can restore every coral reef in the world this way,“ Lange said. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the big things we can to make a difference for local communities, because it makes a big difference for them.”
So for that reason alone, these efforts are important, even in the face of global warming.