Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OCEAN CITIZEN (Marine forest coastal restoration: an underwater gardening socio-ecological plan)
Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2024-06-30
Within this framework, Task Group 3.3 and 2.5 with participation from V-Corals and other key partners, are responsible for constructing and maintaining terrestrial facilities designed to support MAF restoration and evaluating the feasibility of land-based facilities. Specifically, V-Corals is tasked with constructing land-based facilities in Eilat (Red-Sea;Israel) to maintain corals and other marine organisms under controlled conditions. These facilities play a critical role in maintaining and studying marine species under ex-situ conditions, thereby contributing to our understanding of coral husbandry and the development of best practices for future conservation efforts. These facilities allow a precise control and evaluation of environmental parameters, such as water quality and light conditions, and provide a platform for testing and improving protocols that could inform broader restoration efforts. Additionally, it will contribute evaluations specific to the ornamental coral trade. These assessments will inform the design and functionality of the facilities, ensuring they meet the needs of the organisms and support the 'MP Gardeners' program. The ornamental coral trade is estimated to be a $2B industry. However, most corals in this trade are sourced from coral mining. In response, V-Corals has committed to trading only cultivated corals that are not harvested from natural reefs. By focusing on sustainable practices, V-Corals aims to reduce the impact of the ornamental coral trade on natural ecosystems while supporting the restoration and preservation of coral reefs. V-Corals conducted an experiment to compare the growth of Stylophora pistillata under three treatment protocols: the V-Corals protocol, seawater, and hybrid seawater. Conducted in closed aquariums, this study precisely controlled environmental variables, aimed to evaluate each protocol's efficiency in promoting coral growth and optimizing conditions for land-based cultivation. The findings inform protocols and contribute to the knowledge base for coral husbandry and restoration. The project enhances marine conservation by improving the ability to maintain and study marine species in controlled settings. This knowledge underpins strategies for MAF restoration, ensuring efforts are grounded in science. By focusing on constructing and evaluating terrestrial facilities, our work supports the Horizon Ocean Citizens consortium’s goals and advances marine ecosystem sustainability.
Two different Stylophora pistillata coral colonies were fragmented into 42 small nubbins, totalling 94 fragments, which were then distributed among the three treatment groups:
1.Seawater (SW): Natural seawater from the Gulf of Eilat (Israel), with a salinity of 40.4 ppt.
2.Hybrid-Seawater (HSW): A mix of seawater and double distilled water (DDW), salinity of 35 ppt, with growth-enhancing additives.
3.Artificial V-Coral Water (VCW): DDW combined with artificial salts and specific additives tailored by V-Corals, maintaining a salinity of 35 ppt.
Each treatment involved the use of V-Corals' ceramic and Flexi (plastic) plugs, with 8 fragments from each genotype on ceramic plugs and 6 fragments on the Flexi plugs.
Main Achievements:
Establishment of reliable growth measurement techniques: we successfully implemented a methodology for measuring coral growth, including photographic analysis and buoyant weight measurements. This approach provided precise and repeatable data on area, size, height, and ecological volume, all crucial parameters in assessing coral health and growth in controlled environments.
Significant findings on treatment effectiveness: The experiment revealed significant differences in growth rates among the three water treatment protocols. These findings have important implications for optimizing coral cultivation practices in land-based facilities, particularly in terms of water composition and the use of additives.
Impact of plug material on coral growth: This insight is valuable for the ornamental coral trade, where the choice of substrate can influence the health and aesthetic quality of cultivated corals. This information is also valuable for restoration efforts where substrate type can affect growth and following processes when working with corals.
Measurements and Methodology:
•Photographic Analysis: Top-view and side-view images analysed with ImageJ for area size (mm²), height (mm), and ecological volume (mm³).
•Buoyant Weight: Monthly measurements of coral volume changes.
•Dry Weight: Monthly dry weight monitoring of skeletal growth.
1.Seawater (SW): Natural seawater from the Gulf of Eilat (Israel), with a salinity of 40.4 ppt.
2.Hybrid-Seawater (HSW): A mix of seawater and double distilled water (DDW), salinity of 35 ppt, with growth-enhancing additives.
3.Artificial V-Coral Water (VCW): DDW combined with artificial salts and specific additives tailored by V-Corals, maintaining a salinity of 35 ppt.
Each treatment involved the use of V-Corals' ceramic and Flexi (plastic) plugs, with 8 fragments from each genotype on ceramic plugs and 6 fragments on the Flexi plugs.
Main Achievements:
Establishment of reliable growth measurement techniques: we successfully implemented a methodology for measuring coral growth, including photographic analysis and buoyant weight measurements. This approach provided precise and repeatable data on area, size, height, and ecological volume, all crucial parameters in assessing coral health and growth in controlled environments.
Significant findings on treatment effectiveness: The experiment revealed significant differences in growth rates among the three water treatment protocols. These findings have important implications for optimizing coral cultivation practices in land-based facilities, particularly in terms of water composition and the use of additives.
Impact of plug material on coral growth: This insight is valuable for the ornamental coral trade, where the choice of substrate can influence the health and aesthetic quality of cultivated corals. This information is also valuable for restoration efforts where substrate type can affect growth and following processes when working with corals.
Measurements and Methodology:
•Photographic Analysis: Top-view and side-view images analysed with ImageJ for area size (mm²), height (mm), and ecological volume (mm³).
•Buoyant Weight: Monthly measurements of coral volume changes.
•Dry Weight: Monthly dry weight monitoring of skeletal growth.
Growth Measurements:
●Height (mm): The treatment had a significant effect on coral height. Corals in the VCW treatment showed the greatest increase (164±11%), followed by HSW (44.4±5.6%) and SW( 33.5±5.9%). No significant effect of plug type or its interaction with treatment was observed.
●Area Size (mm²): Treatment significantly influenced area size. Corals in VCW-treatment had the largest increase (894±80.1%), followed by HSW (716±48.7%) and SW (115±30%). Plug material didn’t significantly affect size change in VCW and HSW. In SW, coral on the plastic plugs exhibited higher area size increase compared to the ceramic plugs (208±59% vs. 45.6±16.4%), indicating that ‘Flexi-Plugs’ are more effective under SW conditions.
●Ecological Volume (mm³): like height and area size, VCW had the highest increase in ecological volume (2490±212%), followed by HSW (1092±97%) and SW (183±30.6%). Plug material and its interaction with treatment did not significantly impact ecological volume.
Weight Measurements:
●Dry Weight (g): Significant differences were observed: VCW-treated corals had the highest increase (489±87%), followed by HSW (255±44%) and SW (111±20%). Plug type had no significant effect on growth.
●Buoyant Weight (Volume, mm³): There were significant differences among treatments: VCW showed the greatest increase (200±20%), followed by HSW (109±20%) and SW (26±6%). Additionally, plastic plugs resulted in greater volume increases than ceramic plugs (180±24.7 vs. 79±10.8.
Survival Analysis:
●Survival Probability: Survival analysis indicated a significant effect of treatment on survival. VCW treatment had the highest survival rate (100±1%; probability±95% CI), significantly higher than the SW treatment (75±16%), but not significantly different from the HSW treatment (93±9%).
●Height (mm): The treatment had a significant effect on coral height. Corals in the VCW treatment showed the greatest increase (164±11%), followed by HSW (44.4±5.6%) and SW( 33.5±5.9%). No significant effect of plug type or its interaction with treatment was observed.
●Area Size (mm²): Treatment significantly influenced area size. Corals in VCW-treatment had the largest increase (894±80.1%), followed by HSW (716±48.7%) and SW (115±30%). Plug material didn’t significantly affect size change in VCW and HSW. In SW, coral on the plastic plugs exhibited higher area size increase compared to the ceramic plugs (208±59% vs. 45.6±16.4%), indicating that ‘Flexi-Plugs’ are more effective under SW conditions.
●Ecological Volume (mm³): like height and area size, VCW had the highest increase in ecological volume (2490±212%), followed by HSW (1092±97%) and SW (183±30.6%). Plug material and its interaction with treatment did not significantly impact ecological volume.
Weight Measurements:
●Dry Weight (g): Significant differences were observed: VCW-treated corals had the highest increase (489±87%), followed by HSW (255±44%) and SW (111±20%). Plug type had no significant effect on growth.
●Buoyant Weight (Volume, mm³): There were significant differences among treatments: VCW showed the greatest increase (200±20%), followed by HSW (109±20%) and SW (26±6%). Additionally, plastic plugs resulted in greater volume increases than ceramic plugs (180±24.7 vs. 79±10.8.
Survival Analysis:
●Survival Probability: Survival analysis indicated a significant effect of treatment on survival. VCW treatment had the highest survival rate (100±1%; probability±95% CI), significantly higher than the SW treatment (75±16%), but not significantly different from the HSW treatment (93±9%).