Abstract Summary
Coral reefs have degraded drastically in recent decades. The impact of anthropogenic activities, in synergy with the effects of global climate change, has led to the decrease of coral coverage and the loss of roughness of the calcareous matrix, which reduces the three-dimensional structure of the relief with a consequent loss of biodiversity. The natural process of recovering damaged sites seems increasingly uncertain, and for this to happen it could take a long time. With the intention of accelerating the process of recovery of these ecosystems, various restoration strategies have been implemented, which mainly include the planting of corals, either fragments or sexual recruits. These interventions aim to achieve a direct effect on the increase of coral coverage, but the restitution of the roughness of the structure does not occur immediately. The National Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Mexico is carrying out a project for the production of corals and reef restoration. In this year a constant production of micro-fragments is being maintained, based on the technique developed by Dr. David Vaughan, researcher of the MOTE Marine Laboratoy and Aquarium, in order to maximize the production of live coral tissue of Orbicella faveolta and Acropora palmata. The tissue plates produced by micro-fragmentation will be used to reskining artificial substrates, specifically designed for each species, in order to simulate larger coral colonies that provide structural complexity in the intervened sites. These new techniques will allow us to generate colonies capable of growing and reaching sexual maturity in less time than in a natural way. The success of these actions will allow the implementation of actions to restore damaged reefs in a more efficient and timely manner.
