National coral reef restoration projects

(PRML/DBML/Alligator Head/Boscobel)

December 4, 2020

Faculty of Science and Technology

Department of Chemistry

University of the West Indies, Mona

CHEM 3610
Marine and Freshwater Chemistry
Nutrients and Organics

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 Table of Contents

Title Page Page No.

List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………….3

List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………3

1. Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………...4
2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………....5
3. Ongoing Efforts………………………………………………………………………..7
3.1. Discovery Bay Marine Lab……………………………………………….........7
3.2. Alligator Head……………………………………………………………..…...7
3.3. Boscobel………………………………………….………………………….....8
4. Parameters Used ……………………………………………………………………….9
4.1. Visual inspection and assessment …………..………………………………….9
4.2. Water quality………………………………………………………………….10
4.3. Impact from high energy events………………………………………………12
5. Methodologies………………………………………………………………………...13
5.1. Biological Restoration………………………………………………………...13
5.2. Physical Restoration………………………………………………………......14
5.3. Discovery Bay Marine Lab……………………………………………….......15
5.4. Alligator Head…………………………………………………………..….....16
5.5. Boscobel………………………………………….…………………………...16
5.6. Port Royal Marine Lab………………………………………………………..16
5.7. Summary of data………………………………………………………………17
6. Ecological and Human Health Impacts……………………………………………….18

6.1 Ecological Impact………………………………………………………………19

6.2 Human Health Impact…………………………………………………………..20

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 7. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..21

Reference……………………………...……………………………………………………….22

List of Figures

Figure1: Biological Restoration techniques illustration

Figure2: Physical Restoration techniques illustration

List of Tables

Table 1: Summary of restoration techniques used at places of interest

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 1. Executive Summary

Globally Coral reefs have been subjected to a series of stressors like pressure from the

locals and climate change. Many international and national projects have been put in

place to reduce these stressors and aid in the process of natural recovery. However in

some areas this passive restoration technique may not be enough and may require the

intervention of more rigorous and active methods. Places like Boscobel, Alligator Head

and Discovery Bay all use similar techniques to restore our reefs. They use a

combination of physical techniques like coral relocation and biological techniques like

nurseries. In order to efficiently restore the reefs certain parameters need to be

measured. A visual inspection and assessment of the present ecosystem (growth,

health, etc.), quality of the water (turbidity, temperature, pollutants etc.) and impact of

high energy events, e.g. natural disasters.When coral reefs begin to deteriorate there

are human health and ecological impacts that must be considered.

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 2. Introduction

A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef building corals. Reefs are

formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate which makes up their

skeleton and protects the corals internal bodies. Although coral reefs are considered the most

diverse marine ecosystem, coral reefs cover a small fraction of the Earth’s surface which is less

than 2% of the ocean's bottom1.

Coral reefs serve a myriad of functions. Some of which includes; protecting coastlines

from the damaging effects of wave action and tropical storms, providing habitats and shelter

for marine organisms, serving as the source of nitrogen and other essential nutrients for marine

food chains and aiding with nutrient recycling by assisting in carbon and nitrogen fixing 2.

To ensure a healthy ecosystem the coral reefs must be properly maintained. Coral reefs

are delicate and sensitive to changes in water quality, ocean acidification, predation,

overfishing and recreational impacts. When water quality exceeds their natural tolerances due

to pollution or changes in temperatures, corals tend to become stressed and results in death. If

conditions are not alleviated, this will result in reduced biodiversity which causes the

breakdown in ecosystem health and function3

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 The following national coral reef projects are therefore implemented to prevent further

destruction to coral reefs. The Port Royal Marine Laboratory (PRML) - located on the

southeastern coast of Jamaica, encompasses terrestrial and marine areas. Discovery Bay Marine

Laboratory (DBML) - situated on the west side of the Bay, three hundred meters from the reef

crest, located a mile wide and over 50-m deep. Alligator head, where the East Portland Special

Fishery Conservation Area is located. The fish sanctuary is located on the North Eastern coast in

the parish of Portland, spanning 6km2 from Folly to Dragon Bay4, and Boscobel - located on the

north coast of Jamaica.

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 1. The ongoing efforts for the National coral reef restoration projects:

(PRML/DBML/Alligator Head/Boscobel)

3.1. Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory (DBML)

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The ecological devastation in Discovery Bay over the past 40 years is so severe and

accelerated so quickly that there is now no ecological merit in establishing West Discovery Bay

as a scientific reserve for the study of coral reefs. There is little prospect of recovery of coral

however research is being carried out on deep sea organisms that inhabit the corals. For this,

there is a large-scale construction of a rubble and soil dock at the back-reef zone to accelerate

its depauperization by using research submarines to remove large numbers of slow growing

deep sea organisms for experiments.

3.2. Alligator Head

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 Ongoing efforts at Alligator Head Marine Laboratory include rope nurseries and tree-

style nurseries involving the testing of methods for nursery set-up, monitoring, and out

planting. Active coral restoration aims to transplant nursery-grown corals out onto the algal-

dominated reefs to increase the number of corals on the degraded reefs 6.

3.3 Boscobel

Boscobel ongoing efforts include Boscobel Nursery, which holds over a thousand pieces

of coral. These coral nurseries contain corals such as Stag and Elk horn corals. The corals serve

as habitat for fishes, create barrier reefs to help protect shorelines from storm events and

reduce coastal erosion7.

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 2. Parameters measured for national coral reef restoration projects

In order for coral reefs to be restored, there are important parameters that must be

monitored to ensure efficient and effective procedures to be implemented for a successful

restoration. These include:

• Visual inspection and assessment of ecosystem

• Water quality

• Impact from high energy events

4.1 Visual Inspection and assessment of Ecosystem

Growth

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 Growth reflects the health of the coral reef and the value of the ecosystem services it

provides. The larger the coral reef is, the more habitat it provides to organisms and is better

able to dissipate more wave energy.

NOTE:

Measuring growth rates allows for comparisons to be made between different species and

between sites, hence overtime, restoration programmes can be improved.

Taking underwater photographs of coral colonies with a visible scale, provides a photographic

record of size and overall health of the colonies over time. These will serve to facilitate the

identification of colonies and allow for easy recognition of the individual elements and of the

evolution of the size and condition of the reefs8.

Health:

❏ Bleaching: Bleaching in coral reefs provides information around which species are more

tolerant to higher temperatures.

❏ Disease: Diseases stress the coral reefs by depriving them of light, oxygen and damaging

their tissues.

❏ Plankton communities: Plankton communities are used as an indicator of coral reef

health. Ichthyoplankton, zooplankton and phytoplankton are indicators of ecosystem

replenishment and pollution indicators9.

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4.2. Water Quality

Temperature

Changes in temperature can cause stress to ecosystems. With coral reefs, it can lead to

corals losing their colour. This is caused by the disappearance of the microscopic plant cells in

the coral tissue, called zooxanthellae, which provide the corals with 90% of their nutrition from

photosynthesis (sunlight).

Turbidity

Water turbidity affects the penetration of light and therefore the ability of corals to use

sunlight to make energy. Zooxanthellae uses sunlight to photosynthesize and produce sugars as

a source of energy for the coral host, hence without adequate sunlight, corals are unable to

grow and therefore become vulnerable to disease and eventually die 8.

NOTE:

In the Caribbean, high turbidity is usually due to sediment runoff from the land or

blooms of microalgae associated with high levels of nutrients in surface waters.

Chemical Pollutants

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 The concentrations of chemical pollutants from sewage and domestic grey water,

fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides from agricultural lands and livestock farms, antifouling

compounds and industrial by-products, that are filtered into coastal waters affect the health of

coastal ecosystems.

NOTE:

Nutrients such as nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and phosphates are the most pervasive and

common chemicals found in coastal waters. These are often elevated in coastal areas because

of land-based sources of pollution from inadequately treated sewage, domestic wastewater

enriched with phosphate-based detergents, fertilizer run-off and industrial effluents from

factories or distilleries. The levels of Total Inorganic Nitrogen (TIN) and Total Phosphates (TP)

are often used to capture the levels of these common nutrients 8.

4.3. Impact from High Energy Events

High energy events, such as hurricanes and flood events inflict immense physical

damage to coral reefs by toppling coral heads and shifting sand which can smother coral

colonies. However, as hurricanes and storms pass over the ocean it absorbs some of the heat

from the water, cooling the sea surface and giving corals a reprieve from the heat, thereby,

relieving coral reefs from thermal stress.

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 5. Methodologies

Coral reefs are the ‘rainforest of the sea’ and must be protected at all costs. Over the

years coral reefs have been subjected to excessive devastation from natural and anthropogenic

processes and as a result many coral reef restoration projects have been established to restore

its biodiversity and ecological function. These programs have employed a lot of useful

techniques both physical and biological. These techniques are a hands on manipulation of the

coral to speed up the recovery process that they desperately need. Physical techniques focus

on modifying the structure and framework of the corals while biological technique involves

more of the ecological and reef biota restoration. Facilities across Jamaica that are involved in

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the national restoration of coral reefs all use different techniques of both the physical and

biological restoration.

5.1. Biological Restoration

Biological restoration employs techniques that focus on recovering the degraded or

damaged corals. The most common approach is to transplant coral from a coral nursery to the

destroyed sites. One method of biological restoration is fragment collection. This involves

collecting pieces of the damaged coral and transporting it to an in situ nursery then relocating

the healthy coral back into the reef or a direct transplant. In situ nurseries are coral nurseries

located at the reef. This technique uses frames/tables, lines/ropes and coral trees to encourage

the growing process. The coral is grown in the nursery and the fragments are taken to the reef

when they are able to survive on their own. This technique allows the optimal environment to

develop with the interference of other plants and aquatic organisms like algae or sponges.

❏ Frames/Tables: Coral fragments are attached to table or frame made of plastic

coated wire mesh with cable ties and allowed to grow

❏ Lines/Ropes: Fragments are tied to a fishing line and rope and the pieces grow
and connect over time.
❏ Coral Trees: A criss cross arrangement of PVC pipe is used to imitate the
structure of a tree and coral fragments are tied to it.

Another umbrella category of biological techniques is ex situ nurseries. These nurseries

are located on land. The coral is restored at the facility then taken back to the reef when it can

survive on its own. The processes involved are

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 ❏ Larval Seeding: Larval seeding methods increases the rate of coral fertilization.

The larvae are released into the reef and settle in crevices where they begin to

grow naturally.

❏ Aquaria Culture: Using coral fragments to grow healthy coral in an aquarium.

❏ Field Settlement:

Jamaica however uses the in situ coral nurseries mainly because it is cheaper and easier
to construct.

5.2. Physical Restoration

The physical methods focus on restoring the structure and framework of the reefs due

to extreme physical damage normally with some level of scientific engineering. Physical

devastation to the reefs is mainly due to excessive fishing by the locals, coral mining or ships

that pass too close to the reefs and erode the coral overtime. The most commonly used

techniques are substrate modification and artificial substrate. Substrate modification involves

the adding natural material like limestone blocks, rock piles or wires to stabilize the coral’s

framework or to imitate the structure to speed up the recovery process. Some techniques are

❏ Substrate repair

❏ Substrate stabilization: This process includes the cementing of dislodged coral

colonies to encourage the natural growth

❏ Coral relocation: Corals and other symbiotic organisms are moved to a new
location

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 Artificial reefs can also be used by using materials like pvc pipe, wood steel fiberglass to

imitate the coral texture and structure of the coral. Materials like

❏ Reef balls
❏ Biorock

❏ Ecoreef

These structures are conducive to the settlement of larvae and fish development.In

Jamaica our physical restoration process consists mainly of coral relocation and artificial

substrates like the coral reef balls, Ecoreef the bio rock.

5.3. Discovery Bay Marine Lab

In the Discovery Bay Dry Harbor,approximately 3,435 corals have been grown, harvested

and transplanted to their relocation site within the bay. This relocation of the corals was done

to prevent the interference with passing ships through the channel. Discovery also

implemented the use of reef balls. Healthy corals grown in a nursery are transplanted onto the

artificial reef. Bio rock was successfully experimented with but was not continued as a method

of restoration. Coral trees are another technique where PVC pipe is made into a tree like

structure and lined with coral fragments.

5.4. Alligator Head

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 This marine lab focuses their efforts on rope nurseries. Their methods have been

successful as they noticed 80 % of the outplanted corals fused with the reef. Alligator Head also

uses coral trees.

5.5. Boscobel

Coral tree nurseries have been established by collaborative efforts from several

foundations. Coral fragments from adjacent reefs were used and the coral trees became the

main source of coral for the surrounding reefs.

5.6. Port Royal Marine Lab

Insufficient information was available to make an analysis on the Port Royal Lab after

many failed attempts on making contact.

5.8. Summary of data

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 Direct Transplant

Fragment
Collection

In situ Nursery
Biological
Restoration

Larval Seeding

Ex situ Nursery
Aquaria Culture

Field Settlement
Figure 1: Biological Restoration techniques illustration

Substrate Repair

Substrate Substrate
Modification Stabilization

Coral relocation
Physical
Restoration

Ecoreef

Artificial
Substrate Reef balls

Bio rock
Figure 2 : Physical Restoration techniques illustration

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Table 1: Summary of restorative techniques used in locations of interest

Location Technique

Discovery Bay Coral relocation, reef balls, biorock,

frames/tables, coral trees

Alligator Head lines/ropes, coral trees

Boscobel Coral trees

Port Royal -

6. Ecological and Human Health Impact

6.1 Ecological Impact

Warming seas and ocean acidification are the main factors that contribute to coral reef

depletion. Many marine lives depend on coral reefs for survival, these include crabs, fish, and

other marine species. Damaged corals reduce the growth rates, decrease the capacity to

reproduce, increase both mortality rate and the vulnerability to diseases [10]. The community of

the corals affects the species that depend on them; it reduces the genetic and species diversity.

When corals are depleted there will be more space for turf algae to grow rapidly, due to the

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decomposition of the coral organic products will increase and the number of herbivores will

increase. This will affect fishes because they depend on other species that are connected with

the healthy corals. Corals provide homes for species and when the coverage of corals are

reduced by acidification it prevents fishes from escaping their predator and removes the

substrate in which species used for reproduction and settlement. Benthic production and

edible algae are decreased which as a result decreases the abundance of fishes too. Damaged

corals especially those with diseases causes changes in reproductive rate, species diversity,

abundance and growth rates of species associated with the reef[10].

6.2 Human Health Impact

The ability for corals to excrete chemicals, use bioactive compounds and use defense

mechanisms allow them to be potential cures for many human diseases. Plants and animals

that are associated with the coral reef are used to make medicines for cancer, heart disease,

viruses and other illnesses. Corals use an enzyme called Secosteroids to protect themselves

from disease and this same enzyme is used to treat asthma and inflammations. Extracts from

sponges and soft corals are antiviral drugs which are used to cure viruses which include

HIV/Aids[11]. This HIV drug is called AZT which consists of arabinosides that originates from

sponges, to be exact Tethya crypta. The fatty acid around the sponge fights infections, because

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the HIV virus attacks the white blood cells and weakens the immune system; the fatty acid acts

as a substitute to stop or slow the virus down[11]. There are many other examples of medicinal

properties from corals. If the corals are destroyed it is more than likely that the species that are

linked to them will be reduced and will therefore decrease the production of medicine. This will

increase the risk of health issues in humans due to the fact that medicines are limited. With

little or no circulation of water corals can have a variety of diseases such as white-pox, rapid

wasting and many more. Humans depend on some corals for food, when these corals are

consumed the disease is distributed to the human system and affects them.

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 7. Conclusion

Coral reef is an ecosystem found underwater that consists of hard corals that use

calcium carbonate from the seawater to make their shell and soft corals which resemble

plants and trees. Coral are being destroyed by pollution, disease, climate change and

anthropogenic activities. DBML,PRML, Alligator Head and Boscobel are four of the main

locations in which restoration of the coral reef occurs and is being efficient. Many

projects have been implemented to restore damaged coral reefs; the techniques used

are coral farming and reattaching broken pieces of corals with cement or epoxy putty

materials. Nurseries are the main restoration method used in Jamaica, it allows corals to

reproduce and increase genetic diversity along the reef. The restoration of the coral reef

is important to both marine life and human health. Corals are used to make medicine

for humans and they are used as substrates, food and protection for marine life.

Without the coral reef lives are at risk. In restoring the coral reef there are many

parameters to consider such as the growth, health, natural disasters, quality of the

water and many more. These parameters will tell how efficient the method

implemented is working or if other measures need to be put in place.

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 References

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<https://www.nps.gov/subjects/oceans/coral-reefs.htm>.

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coral-reefs.html. 8 July 2009.
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3.https://www.coralguardian.org/en/coral-reef-important/#:~:text=They%20reduce
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8.https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/Coastal%20Management
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9. http://www.alligatorheadfoundation.org/coral-restoration/. (2016). Retrieved from

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