What is it about?
Scientists tested whether low-voltage electricity could help corals grow faster and survive heat stress better. Instead, corals receiving the electricity grew less, and struggled to recover from a marine heatwave. The technique also prevented new corals from settling. These findings suggest it may not be a useful tool for reef restoration.
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Photo by Biorock Indonesia on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Coral reefs are rapidly declining due to climate change and other human impacts, making effective restoration methods crucial. The Mineral Accretion Technique (MAT) has been proposed as a way to boost coral growth and heat resilience, but evidence remains mixed. This study provides critical insights, showing that MAT may actually harm corals under real-world conditions. Understanding what works—and what doesn’t—is essential to improving reef restoration strategies and ensuring resources are directed toward effective solutions.
Perspectives
While we had hoped that the mineral accretion technique could help make reef restoration projects more efficient and even cope with increasing ocean temperatures, unfortunately we found that the technique, as commonly applied, doesn't appear to help corals.
Ewout Knoester
Wageningen Universiteit en Researchcentrum
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Negative effects by mineral accretion technique on the heat resilience, growth and recruitment of corals, PLOS One, December 2024, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315475.
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