TY - JOUR
T1 - Active Ecological Restoration of Cold-Water Corals: Techniques, Challenges, Costs and Future Directions
AU - Montseny, Maria
AU - Linares, Cristina
AU - Carreiro-Silva, Marina
AU - Henry, Lea-Anne
AU - Billett, David
AU - Cordes, Erik E.
AU - Smith, Christopher J.
AU - Papadopoulou, Nadia
AU - Bilan, Meri
AU - Girard, Fanny
AU - Burdett, Heidi L.
AU - Larsson, Ann
AU - Strömberg, Susanna
AU - Viladrich, Núria
AU - Barry, James P.
AU - Baena, Patricia
AU - Godinho, Antonio
AU - Grinyó, Jordi
AU - Santín, Andreu
AU - Morato, Telmo
AU - Sweetman, Andrew K.
AU - Gili, Josep Maria
AU - Gori, Andrea
N1 - Funding Information: The present review is based on the discussions derived from First International Meeting on the Ecological Restoration of Deep-Sea Coral Populations, held in Barcelona on 21?23 November 2016. The meeting was conducted within the frame of the SHELFRECOVER project founded by the Fundaci?n BBVA. The review was also possible thanks to the temporary stay that MM carried out from May to August 2018 in the Instituto do Mar, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas da Universidade dos A?ores -IMAR (Azores, Portugal). Some of the authors are part of the Marine Conservation research group (www.medrecover.org) (2017 SGR 1521) from the Generalitat de Catalunya. We also thank the Fundaci?n Biodiversidad of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological transition through the Pleamar Programme (RESCAP project), co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. Publisher Copyright: © Copyright © 2021 Montseny, Linares, Carreiro-Silva, Henry, Billett, Cordes, Smith, Papadopoulou, Bilan, Girard, Burdett, Larsson, Strömberg, Viladrich, Barry, Baena, Godinho, Grinyó, Santín, Morato, Sweetman, Gili and Gori.
PY - 2021/9/13
Y1 - 2021/9/13
N2 - Cold-water coral (CWC) habitats dwell on continental shelves, slopes, seamounts, and ridge systems around the world’s oceans from 50 to 4000 m depth, providing heterogeneous habitats which support a myriad of associated fauna. These highly diverse ecosystems are threatened by human stressors such as fishing activities, gas and oil exploitation, and climate change. Since their life-history traits such as long lifespan and slow growth rates make CWCs very vulnerable to potential threats, it is a foremost challenge to explore the viability of restoration actions to enhance and speed up their recovery. In contrast to terrestrial and shallow-water marine ecosystems, ecological restoration in deep marine environments has received minimal attention. This review, by means of a systematic literature search, aims to identify CWC restoration challenges, assess the most suitable techniques to restore them, and discuss future perspectives. Outcomes from the few restoration actions performed to date on CWCs, which have lasted between 1 to 4 years, provide evidence of the feasibility of coral transplantation and artificial reef deployments. Scientific efforts should focus on testing novel and creative restoration techniques, especially to scale up to the spatial and temporal scales of impacts. There is still a general lack of knowledge about the biological, ecological and habitat characteristics of CWC species exploration of which would aid the development of effective restoration measures. To ensure the long-term viability and success of any restoration action it is essential to include holistic and long-term monitoring programs, and to ideally combine active restoration with natural spontaneous regeneration (i.e., passive restoration) strategies such as the implementation of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs). We conclude that a combination of passive and active restoration approaches with involvement of local society would be the best optimal option to achieve and ensure CWC restoration success.
AB - Cold-water coral (CWC) habitats dwell on continental shelves, slopes, seamounts, and ridge systems around the world’s oceans from 50 to 4000 m depth, providing heterogeneous habitats which support a myriad of associated fauna. These highly diverse ecosystems are threatened by human stressors such as fishing activities, gas and oil exploitation, and climate change. Since their life-history traits such as long lifespan and slow growth rates make CWCs very vulnerable to potential threats, it is a foremost challenge to explore the viability of restoration actions to enhance and speed up their recovery. In contrast to terrestrial and shallow-water marine ecosystems, ecological restoration in deep marine environments has received minimal attention. This review, by means of a systematic literature search, aims to identify CWC restoration challenges, assess the most suitable techniques to restore them, and discuss future perspectives. Outcomes from the few restoration actions performed to date on CWCs, which have lasted between 1 to 4 years, provide evidence of the feasibility of coral transplantation and artificial reef deployments. Scientific efforts should focus on testing novel and creative restoration techniques, especially to scale up to the spatial and temporal scales of impacts. There is still a general lack of knowledge about the biological, ecological and habitat characteristics of CWC species exploration of which would aid the development of effective restoration measures. To ensure the long-term viability and success of any restoration action it is essential to include holistic and long-term monitoring programs, and to ideally combine active restoration with natural spontaneous regeneration (i.e., passive restoration) strategies such as the implementation of deep-sea marine protected areas (MPAs). We conclude that a combination of passive and active restoration approaches with involvement of local society would be the best optimal option to achieve and ensure CWC restoration success.
KW - challenges
KW - coral husbandry
KW - coral reefs
KW - deep-sea
KW - human impacts
KW - marine protected area
KW - review
U2 - 10.3389/fmars.2021.621151
DO - 10.3389/fmars.2021.621151
M3 - Article
SN - 2296-7745
VL - 8
JO - Frontiers in Marine Science
JF - Frontiers in Marine Science
ER -
