Rebuild Coral Reefs With Nanoscience

Reef Life Foundation's Science Division, IntelliReefs Holds the Key to Settlement of Wild Corals

(No Human Planting, Mother Nature all by Herself!)

Coral reefs are highly complex, living structures comprised of many colonies of corals. These colonies are made up of many tiny individual animals that grow together, called coral polyps. Over hundreds of years, these colonies deposit massive reefs underwater, which humans rely on for food, storm protection, and tourism.

Although they are often called the "rainforests of the sea", coral reefs are made predominantly from animals instead of plants. Coral reefs are highly complex, living structures comprised of many colonies of corals. These colonies are made up of many tiny individual animals that grow together, called coral polyps. Over hundreds of years, these colonies deposit massive reefs underwater, which humans rely on for food, storm protection, and tourism.

After only 14 months of deployment, scientists found healthy, wild coral spawn settled and growing on IntelliReefs deployed near natural reefs in the Caribbean. Oceanite has a complex matrix of pores that increase the surface area for animals to settle and allow for small animals like new coral recruits to survive predators in the early stages of life. Each Oceanite mix design can be fine-tuned to target species-, function-, or site-specific conservation goals. It is composed of proprietary marine mineral matrices that include high-grade limestone, aragonite, and diverse pozzolanic (calcium-binding) components at the nano-scale to attract and support marine life.

Restoration efforts that maximize the efficiency and speed of these small scale processes have great conservation potential. IntelliReefs not only curates a healthy coral community quickly and sustainably, but can also be cast into custom, large-scale habitats. These local changes can create a global impact if we act quickly and use the best restoration technology at our disposal. It has been shown that when local environmental stressors are reduced, reef ecosystems are able to bounce back from global pressures more easily (Smith et al. 2016). By using nanotechnology to enhance and streamline these local processes further, we are simply giving nature back the tools to heal herself.

Links:

• https://www.reeflifefoundation.org/post/biomimicry-nanotechnology-restoring-coral-reefs
• Fish Feed Coastal Communities AND Ocean Communities!
• Miles and Miles of Coral Reefs Created by Reef Life Foundation