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Is it possible to restore the coral reef damage due to vessel grounded? because there are an expert said that coral transplantation is no need to replace all the coral reef damage areas.

Hi, I am a starting my BS' senior year in a few months. The major of my study is molecular and cell biology, I also have a decent background of computational biology tools used for analyzing high throughput sequencing data.

I am interested in perusing my graduate studies at coral reef genomics, biotechnology of coral reef restoration, etc. The problem is I am confused somehow and do not know where to start from. Can anyone give me any advice that can help (Recommending a quality lab that works in the field, having the contacts of a professor that works on the field and maybe needs to recruit a masters or Ph.D. student, or recommending an online course or a textbook that would help me get the required knowledge)? Please, provide me with anything that you think may help. Thanks in advance.

Ha podido alguno críopreservar exitosamente los ovocitos de alguna especie de coral? Solamente he encontrado un caso para una gorgónea (Junceella juncea) por medio de vitrificación (Tsai et al. 2015, adjunto abajo). Se que algunos investigadores (comunicaciones personales) han logrado en algunos casos descongelarlas y reactivarlas después de realizar las inmersiones o el almacenamiento en nitrógeno líquido, sin embargo, pese a que están 'vivos' los ovocitos estos pierden su capacidad de ser fertilizados (infértiles).

Agradezco de antemano su apoyo y colaboración compartiendo sus respuestas y experiencia en este asunto.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277881464_Development_of_Cryopreservation_Techniques_for_Gorgonian_Junceella_juncea_Oocytes_through_Vitrification

Does anyone know of a publication that maps reef restoration initiatives around the world?

Our research is about the effects of ocean acidification on coral health in Puerto Princesa Bay, Palawan and examining appropriate coral restoration methods. 

Our research is about the effects of ocean acidification on coral health in Puerto Princesa Bay, Palawan and examining appropriate coral restoration methods.

Some people build concrete artificial reefs while some purposely sink debris and wrecks. Can the materials used in building these reefs affect the abiotic factors of the water? Can this also change the type and number of species in the area? What types of artificial reef are practical to use?

I am currently conducting a coral conservation project where we 1) rescue corals (loose and broken fragments/branches) 2) transplant on cement+glass plates in nursery site 3) send them back to natural site to recover damaged/patchy reefs.

My question is, are there any specific distances when placing corals from each other?

The 2 pictures below are some of the corals that we placed at the damaged and patchy reef site.

I would normally refer to reference sites to estimate suitable density of transplant and the distance from each other. But i'm not sure if it can be applicable at restoration sites to reduce competition/stresses among growing corals.

Appreciate the recommendations and comments

On 16.11.2022 at the UN Climate Summit COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, debates and speakers address, among other things, the issue of the loss of biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems caused by the increasingly rapid process of global warming caused by anthropogenic factors, i.e., primarily by civilization's greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the accelerating deforestation of forests, the burning and clearing of rainforests to create more areas to grow crops for export, the planet's biodiversity is rapidly declining. In addition, also due to the increasing scale of land and sea pollution, oceanic pollution and the accelerating process of global warming, the level of biodiversity of the planet's natural ecosystems is rapidly declining. Due to the predatory management of burning and clearing of the Amazon rainforest, the area of these natural boreal forests described as the natural lungs of the planet has been declining rapidly in recent years. In addition, due to the greenhouse effect, ocean water temperatures are also rising and coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef in Oceania, are dying. The decline in biodiversity noted in recent years correlates with the rapid mass die-off of many species of flora and fauna. In view of the above, it is necessary to urgently stop forest deforestation, including the burning and clearing of tropical rainforests and also other forest formations and natural ecosystems located in all climate zones. It is necessary to increase the scale of implementation of afforestation programs for civilization-degraded areas, post-mining heaps, wastelands, and the creation of additional urban parks in urban agglomerations. Besides, it is necessary to urgently carry out a full green transformation of the economy, including a pro-climate transformation of the energy sector by replacing the dirty energy of burning fossil fuels with clean energy based on renewable and emission-free energy sources. With the rapid development of ICT information technology, Industry 4.0, satellite analytics, 5G big data transfer, etc. as important elements of the current fourth technological revolution, it is possible to improve techniques and systems for monitoring the state of biodiversity of natural ecosystems.

In view of the above, I address the following question to the esteemed community of researchers and scientists:

What is your opinion on this issue?

Please answer with reasons,

I invite everyone to join the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Warm regards,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

This is regarding India’s Blue Economy Policy. We are happy to see lot detailed information on India’s Blue economy Policy. Definitely we can get good economy from our oceanic region by promoting mariculture activities and other related aspects. We like to add some suggestions under Marine Fisheries, Aquaculture and Increasing sustainable marine capture fisheries.

Artificial reef deployment and Fish Aggregating Devices : Based on our NIOT experience in the following projects, Artificial reef deployment including High rise artificial reef and Fish Aggregating Devices for Tuna fishing, we can strongly recommend Artificial reef is the best method of restoration of marine biodiversity and to create new fishing grounds and the same artificial structures can protect the coast from cyclone or Tsunami when deployed in deep waters near coast.

Fish Aggregating Devices will also be helpful to increase the marine resources in our ocean waters apart from Tuna fishing in deep sea areas.

Artificial Floating Islands or Multipurpose floating platforms: Mariculture is the best method for marine conservation and to utilize the ocean surface for our economy. But due to heavy waves and rough sea in our Indian coast, we can’t carry intensively. By creating Artificial floating Islands or Multipurpose floating platforms, we can perform more open sea cage aquaculture and other related Ocean activities like Ocean Energy, desalination plants and Deep sea ports etc

Island Development: When comparing with main land coastal region, Andaman and Nicobar coast is more suitable for mariculture activites, so we should concentrate more on Islands for this kind development.

Integrated Mariculture : Further our approach should be Integrated farming by including seaweed and other marine organisms like bivalves near the open sea cage aquaculture to get full benefits by utilizing organic waste or nutrients released from fish feed waste and excretion.

Sea ranching: The old method of sea ranching should be considered to restore the marine organisms and conservation

Monitoring Marine Bioinvasion for Ocean Health; Prevention of marine bioinvasion is important in near future to maintain ocean health and that should be monitored, because that also one kind biological pollution. Already NIOT is working on Ballast Water Treatment Technology Test Facility to minimize bioinvasion.

Tuna Research Centre: Under Deep Sea Mission we can promote Tuna Research Centre for Tuna fishing and deep sea fishing.

Alternative Jobs to fishermen community: Alternative job and other related training must be encouraged to avoid more people depend on marine natural resources for their livelihood to minimize the degradation or total loss of biological resources