Restoring coral reefs to save the ocean | Christina Egger | TEDxPraça Gil Eanes

Key Concepts

Coral reefs, coral gardens, biodiversity, coral restoration, fragmentation, coral spawning, coral larvae, coral seeding, climate change, unregulated fishing, habitat destruction, marine conservation.

The Importance of Coral Gardens

The speaker emphasizes the critical role of coral gardens as vital ecosystems in the ocean.

• Oases of Life: Coral gardens are described as "an oasis in the vast desert of the open ocean," highlighting their importance in supporting marine life.
• Habitat and Shelter: Corals form a three-dimensional habitat on the ocean floor, providing shelter and nurseries for countless marine species.
• Food Source: Coral gardens are essential for the fish populations that humans rely on for food. "We would not have all these fish on our plates if there would not be the coral gardens out there."
• Prevalence: Contrary to popular belief, two-thirds of corals live in deeper, colder waters, including extensive coral gardens along the European coast.

Threats to Coral Gardens

The speaker outlines the various threats endangering coral gardens, emphasizing the devastating impact of human activities.

• Unregulated/Illegal Fishing: This is identified as the most significant threat, with fishing nets entangling and destroying corals on the seafloor.
  • Bycatch: The bycatch of corals is often much higher than the target fish, leading to massive destruction. An example is given of 3-4 lobsters caught versus 50-100 corals.
• Climate Change: Similar to tropical reefs, coral gardens are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including warming waters and coral bleaching.

Coral Restoration Methods

The speaker details two primary methods for coral restoration, highlighting the importance of diversity in restoration efforts.

1. Coral Fragmentation

• Process: This involves fragmenting healthy coral branches and transplanting them onto degraded reefs. The fragments then grow and form new colonies.
• Advantages: Easy to implement and has been successfully applied in both tropical and colder water environments.
• Disadvantages: Reduces genetic diversity, making the coral population less resilient to environmental stressors. "We are cloning the coral so our reef will in the end have a lot of clones from a few corals."

2. Coral Seeding

• Process: This method involves collecting eggs and sperm from diverse coral colonies in a laboratory, fertilizing them, and raising the coral larvae. The larvae are then transplanted onto degraded reefs.
• Advantages: Increases genetic diversity, making the coral population more resilient.
• Explanation of Coral Reproduction: Corals reproduce sexually by releasing eggs and sperm into the water. Fertilization results in coral larvae, which can move and settle in new locations.
• Analogy: The process is likened to "seeding a field" with plants, but using corals instead.

The Speaker's Research and Contributions

The speaker shares her personal journey and research in developing coral seeding techniques for European coral gardens.

• PhD Focus: The speaker's PhD research focused on adapting coral seeding techniques for cold-water corals.
• Coral Rescue and Observation: She rescued three common coral species from fishing boats and studied their biology in the laboratory.
• Successful Coral Larvae Production: The speaker successfully produced coral larvae in the lab, including purple larvae from one species.
• Substrate Preference Testing: She tested different substrates to determine the optimal conditions for larvae settlement.
• First Coral Nursery: The speaker established the first coral nursery in Sagash and transplanted baby corals to observe their growth.
• Groundbreaking Results: This research is groundbreaking because the coral seeding mechanism has not been applied in large scale in Europe.

Call to Action and Conclusion

The speaker concludes with a call to action, urging individuals to raise awareness and participate in coral garden conservation efforts.

• Awareness: The first step is to raise awareness about the existence, importance, and threats facing coral gardens. "Today when you go home I want you to tell every person that you encounter that we do have this beautiful coral gardens here and they are important they are threatened and we need to save them."
• Protection and Enforcement: Protecting coral gardens and enforcing protection measures are crucial.
• Restoration: Aiding devastated coral gardens through restoration efforts is essential for their recovery.
• Collaboration: Saving coral gardens requires collaboration between scientists and individuals with diverse skills and abilities.
• Hope: Despite the challenges, the speaker emphasizes that there is hope for the ocean, as we now have the knowledge and technology to make a difference.