Home » Health » They rebuild half a hectare of reefs in Quintana Roo

They rebuild half a hectare of reefs in Quintana Roo

Playback and later artificial planting of corals in Quintana Roo continues to bear fruit, after the devastation of several species, caused by different phenomena such as white syndrome, coral bleaching, among others.

During his presentation: “Application of Scientific Knowledge to the Restoration of Coral Reefs”, Anastazia Banaszak, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), mentioned that since the beginning of the program, rebuild half a hectare of reefs.

Areas where the planting of corals has been carried out. Photo: Special

“We are working on five different reefs and the intervened area in total is about half a hectare, more or less, that is the total area that we are serving,” said the scientist.

Sargassum affects planting of reefs in Quintana Roo

He pointed out that one of the main obstacles that the project has had is the accumulation of sargassum in the reef area and on the beaches, which modifies the quality of the water and brings with it invasive species that harm the reproduction of corals.

“In terms of sargassum, the problem for us is the reduction in water quality. When sargassum reaches the beach it causes a brown tide and this affects the water we use for our aquarium system,” he explained.

He also explained that “the fact that sargassum floats in the sea when there is a spawning event, and the packages of eggs and sperm rise to the surface of the sea, where fertilization takes place naturally, there can be greatly affected by the presence sargassum “.

Positive coral seeding

Regarding the mortality rate of the reproduced corals, and later artificially seeded, Banaszak pointed out that so far it has not been recorded, “although there have been bleaching of other species.”

Among the species they have worked with is the Acropora Palmata.

It may interest you: Red turtles are born in the Mexican Caribbean; study relationship with sargassum

She added that the cost of this project has been approximately $ 15,000 per year, which is used to replant 500 meters of each of the five coral reefs where she and her team are working to rebuild.

– .

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.