Coral Reef Restoration

Nicole M. Rodrguez
Quintero
INGL 3236 Sec. 040H
Prof. Sandra Ros

What is a Coral Reef?

Coral Reefs are very diverse ecosystems held together
by calcium carbonate produced by corals.
They hold thousands of marine species, almost one
third of all fish species can be found in coral reefs.
(Defenders of Wildlife, 2015)

Basic Facts
Coral Reefs are made of polyps, there are simple
organisms that consist of a stomach topped by a
tentacle bearing mouth.

Basically a group of polyps form a Coral.

These individual polyps secrete the calcium carbonate

that eventually adds up to build the structure of a
whole coral reef.
(Defenders of Wildlife, 2015)

Location
This ecosystem is often found in tropical and
subtropical oceans.
They usually form at 150 feet of depth close to the
shore because they need sunlight to survive.
Nevertheless, some corals can be found at more
deeper distances.
(Defenders of Wildlife, 2015)

Serious Problem
Over the past few decades these have been brutally
damaged by changes in water temperature, storms,
diseases, coral predators and mostly by humans.
A damaged coral reef cannot be restored to its original
condition. This could take centuries to happen and it
will never be the same, thats why prevention and
rehabilitation are priority in this issue

(Garrison, et.al, 2012).

Theories
Some scientists blame fertilizers from government
supported agro business like the sugar industry in
South Florida for example.

Those affluences go directly into the sea and create

nutrient glom that causes algae to use all of the
oxygen in the water leaving none available for the
corals and fish that depend on it.

 Many researchers believe that once reef are gone they

never recover. But others have proved this wrong by
achieving effective coral restoration methods.

This is the case of a man named Ken Nedimer, founder

of The Coral Restoration Foundation.

 Being a fisherman throughout his whole life, Nedimer

saw the extreme deterioration of the coral reefs in the
coasts of Key Largo Florida.
He was waiting for someone to do something without
knowing that someone was actually him. He decided
to start a change with help of his non-profit
organization: The Coral Restoration Foundation.

 Mission:
To develop off-shore coral nurseries and reef
restoration programs for critically endangered coral
reefs at local, national and international levels, while
empowering other to do the same in their coastal
communities.

 Ken, trains people all around the world, sharing his

knowledge so more communities can adapt this innovative
conservation.
He has built the largest coral nursery in the world in the
coasts of Key Largo.
Once the corals are 100cm long they take them out of the
nursery and into the reefs where they take 6 months
approximately to grow and attach to the reef on their own.

Possible Solutions
#1 -Controlling the source of impact:
Humans as the source: restrict or supervise shore
activities in the beach such as snorkeling, paddle
boarding, scuba diving making sure is done in a safe
way for the corals. This method would be very difficult
to achieve since beaches are natural resources for the
people to enjoy and not much control can be taken.

Possible Solutions
#2 Weather:
Evidently we cannot change the weather directly, but by
moderating water pollution, global warming and
recycling we are reducing the probabilities of future
weather changes that could damage coral reefs.
This alternative can have positive results but it will be
difficult to measure the effects.

Possible Solutions
#3 Raising awareness:
This should be the first step when trying to resolve any
problem. It is always a good strategy to create conscience of
any specific issue so that people can be more understanding
and careful. This option will not remedy the coral reef
damage directly, but it is necessary in order to send a clear
message to the community and get them to help the cause.

Possible Solutions
#4 Creating organizations and clubs:

This involve having people that dont know much about

the topic, it can be a great help at educating others but
of course it would not alleviate the problem directly.

Possible Solutions
#5 Taking people to the problem:
Showing the damage thats been done and teaching
them the process of coral transplant and/or restoration is
the most attractive solution and it can go accompanied
by raising awareness. This action will most likely be
done by people with extended knowledge on the issue
and the positive impact on reefs would be direct; it is a
physical remedy.

Restoration Techniques

Structural restoration
It involves the construction
of artificial reefs using
rocks, metal or other dead
coral to provide habitats
for organisms and help
new corals to grow.

(New Heaven Dive School, 2014)

Biological restoration
This technique is based on
increasing the amount of
living corals .It involves
collecting and
rehabilitating broken coral
fragments, propagating
coral colonies or
transplanting them. These
colonies will serve as seeds
for new corals.

(New Heaven Dive

School, 2014)

Physical restoration
It generally involves
investigating the conditions
on which the corals are
growing to improve them.
Also creating nurseries for
a better rehabilitation
process, where they keep
the corals safe and are able
to provide with nutrients
for a better restoration.

(New Heaven Dive

School, 2014)

Adopt a Coral
As part of this project to help reduce coral reefs
deterioration in Puerto Rico I thought of the idea of
adopt a coral.

People could choose a specific coral reef of their interest

and visit the area to make sure is clean, volunteer on coral
restoration projects and if you live somewhere far from the
coasts then you could help by donating to the organizations
that specialize in this conservation method.

Works Cited

Defenders of Wildlife. 2015. Basic Facts about Coral Reefs.

http://www.defenders.org/coral-reef/basic-facts

Garrison, V.H., Ward, G. 2012. Transplantation of stormgenerated coral fragments for coral conservation: A successful
method but not the solution. Revista Biologia Tropical (Int. J.
Trop. Biol) 60 (Suppl. 1): 59-70.http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/coraltransplant/

New Heaven Dive School. 2014.Introduction to Coral

Restoration. Retrieved from
http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/marine-conservationthailand/learning-resources/reef-restoration-methods.