The Unsung Heroes of the Oceans
The Lovepost Global, a journal published in New Zealand has this mission: "Love offers a positive answer to the troubles of the planet and to channel more of it is the purpose of The Lovepost." This Post highlights the two stories they have written on Reef Life Ocean Habitats: IntelliReefs
Ever since Darwin’s early observations of coral reefs, scientists have been perplexed by the mere existence of these vibrant underwater ecosystems. How can one of the world’s most productive and diverse communities prosper in such a nutrient-barren landscape? Sponges, it turns out, are the answer.
The unsung heroes of the reef, marine sponges are among the oldest known multicellular organisms on earth, with fossil records dating back to 580 million years ago. These fascinating animals come in all colours, shapes and sizes, with thousands of different species working in symbiosis with the coral to facilitate a healthy reef. Sponges are filter feeders, pumping water through their bodies to feast on the dissolved organic matter (DOM) released by corals and algae. DOM is the largest source of energy produced on the reef but, in this dissolved state, it is impossible for most reef fauna to ingest. This is where sponges come in. After consuming the DOM, the energy and nutrients the sponge receives are quickly recycled as it sheds its old filter cells. This detritus is then gobbled up by particle-feeding critters such as snails, hermit crabs and marine worms who are, in turn, eaten by the reef’s larger inhabitants, creating a sponge loop that nourishes the entire ecosystem.
The rate at which sponges are able to recycle this DOM is no small feat. It has long been known that bacteria play a similar role, with the microbial loop providing sustenance to higher trophic levels throughout the ocean. But the same amount of water that bacteria filters in 30 days, sponges are able to pump through in an outstanding 30 minutes. The humble sponge also has a rapid cell replacement cycle, with one particular species, the Halisarca caerulea, able to produce new filter cells every five to six hours—the fastest cell turnover rate seen in any multicellular organism. This highly efficient sponge loop stops DOM from being lost to the waters of the open ocean, keeping these resources cycling within the reef ecosystem to produce a thriving community." Maddie White
Crustos Coralline Algae-- See Photo Below: The Skeletal System beneath Coral Reefs are plentiful on the Oceanite Mineral Matrices created by Reef Life called: IntelliReefs
"Back on the reef, there lives another very different type of algae; unlike the plant-like structures of turf algae and seaweed, crustose coralline algae (CCA) resemble a pink rock. But don’t be fooled by their unassuming appearance—CCA species are essential players in the formation and maintenance of reef ecosystems. If coral structures are the buildings of these underwater cities then CCA are the base infrastructure; it's the mortar that binds the bricks together, the strong foundation which facilitates the growth of a healthy community. These inconspicuous algae grow in the form of encrusting veneers, cementing together coral substrate to create new sites for colonisation. CCA even chemically prepare these sites for settlement, making their calcified encrustation the most attractive real estate on the reef. The rock-hard cover of these algae also serves to protect the reef from breakdown, reinforcing coral skeletons and forming a shield on wave-exposed crests, which reduces the rapid erosion of underlying substrate." MW
Photos below depict the heavy CCA Growth on IntelliReef's Oceanite Minerals:
"These are a few standout members of an incredibly valuable community. Coral reefs are a kaleidoscope of unsung heroes: creatures of all different colours, shapes and sizes fitting together in complex ways to create something spectacular. Unfortunately, human activity and anthropogenic climate change are having a serious impact on these marine ecosystems, destabilising these carefully balanced relationships and leaving many of the ocean's inhabitants without food and shelter. In order to protect coral reefs, we must give these underdogs the attention they deserve and mobilise conservation efforts that safeguard their future. Even our individual actions can have a serious impact—we need to all be conscious consumers, reducing the amount of carbon we emit and choosing sustainably sourced products, treating the reef with reverence and respect when diving or fishing in these environments, participating in beach clean-ups or advocating for reef conservation, and supporting initiatives like Reef Life Restoration, "Gift A Reef Project" providing homes for the ocean's homeless. There is a wonderful world of life beneath the waves, and these strange and colourful creatures need our love, just as much we need them." Maddie White The Love Post
The first story on Reef Life Nanoscience Saving Coral Reefs below:
Reef Life teams who shot these incredible creatures: Photo Credits: The Film Team which traveled to Sint Maarten late January included the massively talented @colleenflanigan Socio-Ecological Artist/ whose "close-ups" revealed diverse marine creatures in our #intellireefs @intellireefs @reeflifefoundation @waittfoundation
@_michellesanders @emchiggins @iankellett_story @ecoblueprojects
January 2020 Ocean Science Documentary funded by The WAITT Foundation
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Links:
https://www.reeflifefoundation.org/post/intellireefs-coral-restoration-nano-tech Full Report Link
Reef Life Restoration has developed a nanotechnology-based artificial reef system that can restore large portions of coral reefs degraded by hurricanes, bleaching, overfishing, and acidification. The mineral compounds can be customized to site, species, and function in order to rapidly restore reefs, providing habitats for biodiverse marine plants, animals, and corals. Preserve, protect and enhance existing reefs, adding conservation values to projects.
The system, named IntelliReefs, acts as an enhanced substrate precisely engineered to promote marine biodiversity through site-specific material substrates called Oceanite. Oceanite is an advanced porous material designed to increase the surface area per square meter while maintaining structural integrity and durability. The high-level strength of Oceanite allows the Reef Life team to develop innovative architectural designs that accomplish project and function-specific deployment objectives while withstanding harsh oceanic conditions and storms.
The different mineral mixtures of Oceanite substrates are customizable to site, species, and function by enabling precision control of pH values, surface chemistry, and texture to attract target marine species and enhance the growth of calcareous organisms, such as crustose coralline algae (CCA), bivalves, and diverse corals.
The Reef Life team identified Sint Maarten as an ideal location for an IntelliReef prototype series due to the need to restore and protect the rapidly deteriorating marine biodiversity and structural complexity of island reef systems. Sint Maarten’s marine ecosystems have been degraded by overfishing, hurricanes, runoff, and a suite of other compounding natural and anthropogenic stressors over the past five decades. In 2017, Hurricane Irma—one of the strongest hurricanes to have hit in the Atlantic Ocean to date, with winds exceeding 185 MPH—caused widespread destruction to the island. Large storm surge caused severe mechanical damage on reefs and intense rainfall increased pollution and toxic input.
In November 2018, Reef Life Restoration deployed 60 IntelliReef units underwater that were assembled into 3 artificial reefs near Philipsburg, Sint Maarten as part of a pilot study. The aim for the project was to observe how Oceanite substrates performed biologically and physically at three different sites. The team compared the percent cover of animals and plants on IntelliReefs and measured the abundance and diversity of associated fish after 14 months in a coral reef marine protected area (MPA) and two unprotected seagrass beds. Researchers also hoped to determine the suitability of Oceanite for facilitating coral recruitment. Deployment VIDEO:
After 14 months underwater, Reef Life researchers found differences in the cover and composition of communities living on the substrates according to orientation of the substrate (horizontal vs. vertical) and site. Horizontal substrates were exposed to more light and were largely dominated by filamentous algae at all sites. Vertical substrates receive variable light depending on the time of day and season and were found to support an incredible diversity of plants and animals. Reef Life researchers found that the total percent cover of benthic invertebrates and calcifying organisms was higher on vertically-oriented substrates than horizontally-oriented substrates for all IntelliReefs.
Crustose coralline algae (CCA) is a functional group of calcifying algal species that facilitate coral settlement through the formation of calcium carbonate and microbial communities, supporting healthy coral reef development. Oceanite mixtures are specifically designed to attract and incorporate calcifying organisms (e.g. corals, CCA, bivalves, polychaetes, etc.). CCA cover was highest on the IntelliReef in the MPA, and both horizontal and vertical substrates had more CCA than the adjacent natural coral reef. Finding high levels of CCA on the IntelliReefs suggests that the chemical/mineral mixtures are performing as expected (or better), and demonstrates the potential to scale up IntelliReef deployments to facilitate settlement of reef-building species on a regional to global scale.
"The results of our pilot study are really exciting because we found that the microtopography and complex matrix of pores created by our substrate provides an incredible amount of surface and interior space for a diversity of life to settle. Other artificial substrates don't provide interior habitat for animals to colonize. Many of these species are important for reef development and provide food for the fish community" said Emily Higgins, Reef Life Foundation’s Director of Science and Communication.
Reef Life Restoration aims to deploy 25,000 sq miles of reef growth substrate by 2030 to address reef degradation globally. Reef Life researchers suggest IntelliReefs are a large-scale, durable solution to increase colonizable substrate in an effort to combat increased rates of reef deterioration due to erosion, hurricanes, and ocean acidification. In addition, the complex microtopography, mineral composition, and porosity of Oceanite help address early recruit mortality by providing additional shelter. Reef Life’s next phase of research includes measuring coral recruitment and survival on Oceanite mixtures using standardized, replicated settlement tiles across sites.
Divers observed macroscopic coral recruits (Porites astreoides) on the IntelliReefs deployed in both the coral reef MPA and the unprotected seagrass bed through-way, supporting the initial hypothesis that Oceanite substrates can facilitate wild coral settlement in a relatively short amount of time. Based on the number of polyps on recruits, the corals settled during their last reproductive season (May - September 2019), <1 year after IntelliReef deployment.
Results also indicated that sites with a high amount of vertical relief over ecologically relevant spatial scales can sustain large fish populations. The IntelliReefs deployed in the unprotected through-way had an order of magnitude more fish than its counterpart in the MPA. The additional structural complexity provided by these structures have the potential to attract and recruit fish from the water column and nearby habitats. Globally, both pelagic and demersal fish species have been found to seek shelter in high-relief artificial reefs relatively soon after deployment, indicating that man-made structures can be highly effective at mitigating the effects of overfishing and rehabilitating depleted fish stocks.
IntelliReef designs offer dynamic substrate orientations, structural complexity, and high-quality colonizable habitat that calcifying organisms settle on quickly (14 months) and attract fish from nearby habitats. Reef Life restoration can tailor artificial reefs structurally and chemically to meet habitat-specific requirements for targeted biological communities. Initial results from the Sint Maarten pilot study suggest that when Oceanite artificial reefs are deployed in MPAs and low-traffic areas, they have the potential to accumulate nearly 100% cover on all surfaces. The results from Reef Life’s preliminary investigations of benthic communities on IntelliReefs suggest that structural design of future IntelliReefs should integrate substrates angled to reduce sedimentation and create a variety of light exposure levels to increase diversity on the structure.
Conclusion:
The initial results from this IntelliReef pilot study off the coast of Philipsburg, Sint Maarten indicate an incredible potential for using Oceanite structures to increase local biodiversity and provide optimal conditions for rapid species growth. This opens the door to a variety of marine reconstruction and enhancement projects, and has applications in coral gardening, aquaculture infrastructure, sustainable coastal development, and cultural projects that merge conservation and art for diving tourism. Reef Life’s current contracts and future research programs focus on customizing IntelliReefs to site and species to maximize returns on deployment goals and conservation value.
Reef Life Foundation has a contract with The Nature Foundation St. Maarten to deploy a large-scale sculptural art dive reef in Sint Maarten. This new coral IntelliReef system will be a 30 x 30 meter series of sculptures shaped like sea turtles and cast from Oceanite. Reef Life Foundation will continue to work with The Nature Foundation St. Maarten, with expansion of the IntelliReefs into the Marine Protected Area and other dive locations. Underwater sculptures and art dive reefs made from high-quality Oceanite substrates not only have the potential to increase biodiversity and cover of important, reef-associated plants and animals, but can be used to fund local conservation efforts through dive fees. Having artificial habitats adjacent to natural reefs also can alleviate diving pressure on damaged and recovering reefs.
Links:
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