Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
SPCMSC researchers study the impact of coral restoration on reef growth
By St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
July 7, 2023
USGS researchers will conduct carbonate budget surveys of coral reefs in the Florida Keys to quantify how ongoing coral restoration by Mote Marine Laboratory affects reef growth.
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Corals create essential reef habitat that supports biodiversity, fisheries production, tourism, and shoreline protection—ecosystem services that are valued at more than $8.5 billion in south Florida alone. The persistence of that habitat, and critical ecological and socioeconomic functions it supports, relies on the balance between the processes of reef growth and erosion. Major declines in coral populations in recent decades has resulted in erosion becoming the dominant process on most of Florida’s reefs. Now, many reefs that took thousands of years to build are rapidly eroding away. Coral restoration—the process of growing and replanting new corals on degraded reefs— has become an increasingly popular tool for reviving coral populations in Florida and around the world. Although many coral-restoration programs also aim to improve important reef functions like reef growth, few have quantified the impact of restoration on the reef-growth process.
SPCMSC scientists are addressing this research gap using a method known as carbonate-budget modeling. Carbonate-budget models—which use modern reef surveys to estimate the balance between growth and erosion—provide a powerful tool for evaluating restoration success that goes beyond typical measures of coral health or survival. These models can be used to directly quantify how coral restoration will affect the process of reef growth. By conducting surveys at both restored and non-restored areas of reefs throughout the Lower Florida Keys (Key West and Big Pine Key), the SPCMSC researchers will be able to compare reef growth and carbonate budgets at these sites. These data will provide the first assessments of how coral restoration affects the function of reefs in the Florida Keys region.
This research is funded by a Protect Our Reefs award from Mote Marine Laboratory.
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Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
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When carbonate production is high, coral reefs grow, providing more habitat for biodiversity and additional coastal protection. When carbonate production is too low, bioerosion becomes dominant and the reef is eroded, decreasing the amount of habitat available.
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The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
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Erosion has taken a toll on this Keys coral
A reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary with little living coral and extensive bioerosion. Photo taken under research permit number FKNMS-2016-085-A1. Credit: USGS, Ilsa Kuffner.
A reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary with little living coral and extensive bioerosion. Photo taken under research permit number FKNMS-2016-085-A1. Credit: USGS, Ilsa Kuffner.
Reef erosion demonstrated by concrete and stainless-steel marker
Concrete and stainless-steel marker photographed 17 years after being installed into the reef in 1998 by Harold Hudson, NOAA. Scraping and grazing by parrotfish, chemical erosion from sponges, and wave action all combine to winnow away the dead skeletons of coral—a process known as reef erosion.
Concrete and stainless-steel marker photographed 17 years after being installed into the reef in 1998 by Harold Hudson, NOAA. Scraping and grazing by parrotfish, chemical erosion from sponges, and wave action all combine to winnow away the dead skeletons of coral—a process known as reef erosion.
Related Content
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...
Seafloor Erosion in the Florida Keys
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Coral reefs are important for supporting biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and coastal protection, but are in decline worldwide, primarily due to extreme heat waves and subsequent coral bleaching, in addition to other stressors.
Carbonate Budget Animation
When carbonate production is high, coral reefs grow, providing more habitat for biodiversity and additional coastal protection. When carbonate production is too low, bioerosion becomes dominant and the reef is eroded, decreasing the amount of habitat available.
When carbonate production is high, coral reefs grow, providing more habitat for biodiversity and additional coastal protection. When carbonate production is too low, bioerosion becomes dominant and the reef is eroded, decreasing the amount of habitat available.
Lauren Toth - Coral Restoration
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
Erosion has taken a toll on this Keys coral
A reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary with little living coral and extensive bioerosion. Photo taken under research permit number FKNMS-2016-085-A1. Credit: USGS, Ilsa Kuffner.
A reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary with little living coral and extensive bioerosion. Photo taken under research permit number FKNMS-2016-085-A1. Credit: USGS, Ilsa Kuffner.
Reef erosion demonstrated by concrete and stainless-steel marker
Concrete and stainless-steel marker photographed 17 years after being installed into the reef in 1998 by Harold Hudson, NOAA. Scraping and grazing by parrotfish, chemical erosion from sponges, and wave action all combine to winnow away the dead skeletons of coral—a process known as reef erosion.
Concrete and stainless-steel marker photographed 17 years after being installed into the reef in 1998 by Harold Hudson, NOAA. Scraping and grazing by parrotfish, chemical erosion from sponges, and wave action all combine to winnow away the dead skeletons of coral—a process known as reef erosion.
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