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Marine Life & Conservation

The Maldivian Coral Carers – An insight into Active Coral Restoration Techniques

Published

4 years ago

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A guest post for Scubaverse by Chloe Brown.

Chloe is a graduate from the University of Southampton where she studied for a BSc Oceanography. She started her diving career whilst studying, which led to her current job working for Velaa Private Island in the Maldives. Chloe works together with the resident marine biologist and coral biologist restoring the house reef while conducting new innovative research to improve restoration techniques.

The reality of climate change beneath the waves is more detrimental than the majority are aware. Among all the reefs found across the globe, 50% have been destroyed in recent years in response to anthropogenic stressors. Unfortunately, these beautiful habitats are tucked away and the effects easily go unnoticed, deteriorating further. This is not the case for the diving community who are unfortunately witnessing this rapid decline in corals and marine life. Therefore, multiple restoration efforts worldwide have jumped in to attempt to restore one of the world’s greatest wonders, before it is too late.

A section of the reef with our transplanted corals in view and all the fish behind attracted to the new corals

Restoration Techniques

Coral restoration initiatives aim to restore the overall health, abundance, and biodiversity improving the reef’s tolerance to external stressors. The process behind this is to utilize the existing corals to clone them and repopulate the reef. The fact these corals are still surviving on the reefs, despite the natural disturbances, indicates strong resilient characteristics that are very valuable to restoration projects. These corals act as “donor colonies” as small fragments are broken off to be grown in nurseries and later transplanted back onto the reef.

Floating Mid water nursery

Here at Velaa Private Island, we use the floating mid-water nursery set up. These consist of 1,500 corals and we currently have two of these nurseries in place. Our nurseries mainly hold Pocillopora spp. as it is extremely tolerable with a high prevalence rate. We attach the small fragments taken from the donor colonies with monofilament and crimps to the nurseries, where they grow for a year. This nursery is situated at a depth of 8m (anchored at 30m) and located away from the reef. Growing away from the reef reduces predation, moderates competition, and allows depth alterations during warmer months to mitigate bleaching effects. Other key nursery designs are being trialed by other restoration efforts worldwide. These include coral trees, net nurseries, and ex-situ nurseries in laboratories, where the conditions can be monitored and controlled 24 hours a day.

Transplanted coral attached with marine cement

During transplantation, we use marine cement to attach the corals to rocks and other hard surfaces found along the reef. Over time these corals will propagate outwards via asexual reproduction growing over the adhesives securing themselves on to the reef.We have successfully transplanted over 4,500 corals with a 70% survival rate. This has had a great effect on increasing the abundance and diversity of marine life present on the reef.

We have additionally conducted further research into effective ways to restore species diversity, specifically looking at massive species. It was found that massive coral species survive better when the fragments are transplanted directly onto the reef, skipping the nursery phase entirely. The ideal fragment size should be 1-2cm and attached to the substrate 1cm away from its clones, to allow fusion with growth. It was Dr. Vaughn who discovered that massive coral species grow quicker when they are cut into smaller fragments. He also discovered tissue fusion between clones however, his finding was taken from ex-situ experiments. It’s fantastic to see similar results in-situ with all the natural disturbances prevailing. The overall aim of restoration is to rehabilitate the reefs encouraging natural growth and self-sufficiency. We have certainly seen this as there was higher recruitment (coral larvae settlement) number in the transplant sites compared to the untouched degraded sites. Self-generation has been evident.

Fusion from one of our massive species Pachyseris

This is an insight into a few techniques used by restoration projects. Without reef restoration, it is predicted that a complete loss of coral reefs will be seen in the next 30 years, taking away, the home to 25% of all marine life. This signifies the importance of restoration and future conservation measures. To ensure the sustainability of restoration efforts education and awareness need to be conducted. Awareness needs to be ubiquitous as it is not just those living along the coasts who have an impact on the oceans, it’s everyone. People need to be taught about the reality of the ocean to induce a permanent change; otherwise coral reefs will lose the fight against mankind taking the marine life with it.

If you are interested in the work we are doing or just want to see some awesome underwater shots of marine life check out our Instagram page @velaacoralproject. We will be delighted to have you.

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Marine Life & Conservation

Shark Trust launches Oceanic 31 Shark Art Auction

Published

2 weeks ago

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November 1, 2024

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After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.

People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:

https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction

It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.

The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.

One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.

Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:

https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24

Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.

Find out more here:

https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31

 Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”

Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction

Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden

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Marine Life & Conservation

Meet Steve Backshall in the Bite-Back Prize Draw

Published

4 weeks ago

on

October 21, 2024

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steve backshall

Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.

Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.

On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.

Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.

Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.

Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”

The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.

To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.

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