the corals sing. This has been shown by research from the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol (United Kingdom), which has discovered the vast repertoire of sounds that populate healthy and well-preserved coral systems, facing those who have been destroyed, who remain submerged in a deathly silence.
These are sounds not directly audible by man under the sea, but with the application of the necessary instruments they reveal a rich sound harmony that evidences the diversity of organisms that live around these corals.
The coral reefs off the coast of Indonesia are coming back to life Thanks to the efforts made over the years by the Mars-Assisted Reef Restoration System (MARRS), a project involving numerous scientists and experts.
Research from the two British universities not only shows that reefs are coming back to life, but that it is also promotes the recovery of entire populations of different species, associated with this ecosystem.
“The restoration project may be successful in the case of coral, but it is only part of the ecosystem & rdquor ;, recalled the lead author of the study, Tim Lamont, in a statement.
Using recordings from 2018 and 2019 to monitor how reef communities grow, scientists found that the diversity of the soundscape they recorded corresponds very closely to the ‘song’ of existing healthy reefs.
The teams also recorded considerably more fish sounds in healthy, restored areas than in degraded reefs.
This video shows the sounds of restored coral reefs.
Professor David Smith, Chief Marine Scientist at Mars Incorporated, added: “When the soundscape goes back to this way, the reef has a better chance of becoming self-sustaining again, because those sounds attract more animals, which sustain and diversify. reef populations.
On the other hand, in those reefs that for whatever reason have been devastated and hardly show signs of life on their remains, the recorded sounds are limited to a vague and uniform whisper, devoid of any tone.
The MARRS project is one of the largest coral reef restoration programs in the world. It uses meter-wide star-shaped steel structures, known as reef stars, which are coated with sand and laced with live coral fragments.
Are steel stars are connected underwater in a network and anchored to the bottom of the sea to provide a stable platform for corals to grow and a habitat for marine species to thrive.
These structures are placed directly on barren fields of coral debris caused ​​​​by historically destructive fishing techniques and have shown no previous signs of recovery, turning them back into thriving reefs.
The first star network was built between two island communities in Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the project is now expanding off the coast of Mexico, off Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and into the Maldives. Since 2018, coral cover has increased from 5% to 55% at key restoration sites.
The teams plan to restore coral reefs that measure more than 185,000 square meters, roughly the size of 148 Olympic swimming pools, at strategic points around the world.
Reference study: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14089