(MY) coaxing corals to grow

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Tuesday May 9, 2006-The Star

 

Coaxing corals to grow

 

By TAN CHENG LI

 

TO THE untrained eye, the Aquascape artificial reef does not appear

terribly impressive, considering that they have spent some two years

in the sea off Pulau Tioman, Pahang.

 

It looks like not much has grown on them, with the exception of

oysters which smother some of the cement structures, built to resemble

a mound with three ridged peaks of varying heights.

 

But then again, corals are slow-growers. These marine organisms live

in colonies consisting of many individual coral polyps, and some grow

a mere 1cm a year. In fact, 10 years can pass before structures dumped

into the sea to form reefs can take semblance of the real thing, says

environmental science graduate Wong Leong Sze of Universiti Putra

Malaysia (UPM).

 

Having kept a close watch on the Aquascape reef, he is optimistic and

happy with the coral growth so far. Coral fragments which he had

transplanted onto the cement mounds in September as part of his

masters research programme, have grown between 1mm and 8mm. A few have

sprouted an impressive 2cm.

 

But what satisfies him most is the large number of coral juveniles

which have settled on the Aquascape, most of which are too tiny to be

discernible to non-scientists. After all, this was the whole reason

behind placing the Aquascape in the sea – to provide a hard surface or

substrate for coral larvae to attach themselves to and grow.

 

Apart from corals, various species of marine invertebrates such as sea

urchins, sea cucumbers, crinoids and cushion stars, as well as marine

snails and fish have sought refuge at the Aquascape reef.

 

Damsel fish, butterfly fish, wrasses and groupers dart around the

structures while schools of breams, snappers, fusiliers and barracudas

swirl above. Moray eels, hawksbill turtles and even a nurse shark have

made the occasional appearance. A species of shellfish has even laid

eggs inside the cavity of one Aquascape.

 

" There is a lot of positive results, " says UPM marine scientist Dr

H.M. Ibrahim, who is supervising Wong's research on marine ecology.

" Coral growth has been quite good and the artificial reef is not only

able to support diverse reef life, but is attracting other reef

dwellers. "

 

The promising results have prompted courier company DHL Malaysia,

which had sponsored 10 Aquascape in June 2004, to add another 58 units

two weeks ago. " After placing the 10 Aquascape, we watched carefully

their development to see whether they deliver the promise to grow and

form part of the reef. They did, so we are adding more, " says DHL

chief executive officer Scott Price.

 

The Aquascape units sit on the fringes of Pirate Reef, an undersea

rainforest of corals sited 500m off the beach at Tekek Bay. Price and

some 25 DHL staffers dived at the site two weeks ago to see how the

artificial reef was shaping up. Buoyed by the success of the Tioman

Reef Restoration Project, Price says the company plans to expand it to

other countries.

 

 

Man-made seascape

 

 

DHL is the first corporate sponsor of Aquascape artificial reef which

was designed by Daniel D'Orville, creative director of an advertising

agency.

 

Being Malaysian-made, the Aquascape does not require royalty fees like

other foreign-designed artificial reef systems. However, its usage is

still limited as D'Orville wants more tests done.

 

The only other corporate sponsor is Hilton Petaling Jaya, which funded

15 Aquascape units at Tioman in 2004.

 

With almost 20 years of scuba diving behind him, D'Orville has seen

much destruction of reefs as a result of development and pollution.

 

" I've always wanted to do something to restore degraded coral reefs.

Corals take a long time to grow, probably 1cm a year. To help the reef

expand and regenerate, they need a stable base to grow on. "

 

Anything that is dumped into the sea, be it rocks, rubble, wood,

concrete slabs, ships, old cars, tyres, coconut fronds or ropes, given

time, will eventually become artificial reefs as they provide shelter

and habitat for marine life.

 

To design the Aquascape, D'Orville drew on his underwater photography

background. " To take pictures of marine life, I observe where they can

be found. So I know their habitat and I incorporate the features into

the design of the Aquascape. And as a photographer, I prefer

natural-looking reefs. "

 

To mimic a typical seascape, he shaped the Aquascape into a mound with

gentle, terraced slopes. The ridges provide flat surfaces for corals

to get a foothold. D'Orville believes that once colonised by marine

creatures, the Aquascape will blend with the natural reef seascape.

 

The Aquascape units are made of cement used in marine structures such

as jetties. Each is 1m long and weighs 400kg. The shape and weight

make them unmovable in water.

 

Heavy development pressure, thanks to its " duty-free " status, makes

Tioman the choice site for the Aquascape artificial reef. Pirate Reef,

meanwhile, needs all the help it can get as a mere 500m away, the sea

is being dug up for the controversial marina project.

 

Five volunteers dived from dawn to dusk over two days to position the

58 Aquascape units around the reef edge at depths of 8m to 12m. " It

was hard work but it felt good seeing fish come and check out the

Aquascape on the first day itself, " says one volunteer, Abdul Rahmat

Omar Tun Mohd Haniff.

 

A survey on water current and movement was conducted earlier on to

determine that the underwater environment is right for corals to

thrive. Wong has given the artificial reef a head start by

transplanting fragments of two species of stony corals, Porites rus

and Acropora formosa, that are common on the reef. These were attached

to the first batch of Aquascape units with non-toxic marine epoxy.

 

Among the 40 to 60 juvenile stony and soft corals which have colonised

the Aquascape are Pocylopora, Acropora, Porites, Povani and Millipora

corals. Tiny gorgonian corals have also taken root.

 

" The first ones were the Pocylopora corals, followed by encrusting and

slower-growing corals. It is good that we have these as they are hardy

and the ones which build the reef, " says Wong.

 

Indeed, given time and a helping hand, a reef will take shape over the

Aquascape and eventually, form part of the ocean ecosystem.

--\

------------------------------Tuesday

May 9, 2006

 

Pros and cons

 

ARTIFICIAL reefs may have proven their worth in restoring ailing coral

reefs but they are not always the best remedy for marine conservation

– not when expenses remain high.

 

Each Aquascape unit costs RM500 to manufacture but deploying just 10

of them can chalk up a bill of RM200,000 because of surveys on site

suitability, installation and monitoring.

 

Projects on artificial reefs are much-loved by sponsors because they

grab public attention but in the past, some schemes proved to be

failures as site suitability studies were not done; neither were there

checks to see if the reef was indeed, growing.

 

Thus a nagging thought is whether funds pumped into artificial reefs

might be better spent on promoting sustainable coastal development,

environment-friendly tourism activities and pollution prevention.

 

Malaysian Nature Society official Andrew Sebastian says ill-thought

out projects divert attention from the core issue – the need to

protect coral reefs and prevent their destruction.

 

" Artificial reefs should only be done in sites with highly degraded

reefs. Why invest in them if the area already has a healthy natural

reef? They might cause migration of animals from natural reefs,

resulting in changes to marine life behaviour or habitat, " says

Sebastian, who heads the parks and special projects unit.

 

There are also other ecological concerns. Some artificial reef

structures have rusted away, broken loose from storm and wave action,

or leached harmful chemicals into ocean waters. And in the Tioman reef

restoration project, two Aquascape units were inadvertently dropped

over the reef, breaking staghorn corals.

 

Marine scientist Dr H.M. Ibrahim agrees that artificial reef projects

soak up resources but says costs can be brought down by involving

volunteers. " Creating artificial reefs will not hurt. It promotes

awareness and a sense of ownership. And it is one way to get

corporations involved in conservation. "