Coral restoration can drive rapid reef carbonate budget recovery.

Restoration is increasingly seen as a necessary tool to reverse ecological decline across terrestrial and marine ecosystems.1,2 Considering the unprecedented loss of coral cover and associated reef ecosystem services, active coral restoration is gaining traction in local management strategies and has recently seen major increases in scale. However, the extent to which coral restoration may restore key reef functions is poorly understood.3,4 Carbonate budgets, defined as the balance between calcium carbonate production and erosion, influence a reef's ability to provide important geo-ecological functions including structural complexity, reef framework production, and vertical accretion.5 Here we present the first assessment of reef carbonate budget trajectories at restoration sites. The study was conducted at one of the world's largest coral restoration programs, which transplants healthy coral fragments onto hexagonal metal frames to consolidate degraded rubble fields.6 Within 4 years, fast coral growth supports a rapid recovery of coral cover (from 17% ± 2% to 56% ± 4%), substrate rugosity (from 1.3 ± 0.1 to 1.7 ± 0.1) and carbonate production (from 7.2 ± 1.6 to 20.7 ± 2.2 kg m-2 yr-1). Four years after coral transplantation, net carbonate budgets have tripled and are indistinguishable from healthy control sites (19.1 ± 3.1 and 18.7 ± 2.2 kg m-2 yr-1, respectively). However, taxa-level contributions to carbonate production differ between restored and healthy reefs due to the preferential use of branching corals for transplantation. While longer observation times are necessary to observe any self-organization ability of restored reefs (natural recruitment, resilience to thermal stress), we demonstrate the potential of large-scale, well-managed coral restoration projects to recover important ecosystem functions within only 4 years.

Hold big business to task on ecosystem restoration.

Corporate reporting must embrace holistic, scientific principles.

Limiting motorboat noise on coral reefs boosts fish reproductive success.

Anthropogenic noise impacts are pervasive across taxa, ecosystems and the world. Here, we experimentally test the hypothesis that protecting vulnerable habitats from noise pollution can improve animal reproductive success. Using a season-long field manipulation with an established model system on the Great Barrier Reef, we demonstrate that limiting motorboat activity on reefs leads to the survival of more fish offspring compared to reefs experiencing busy motorboat traffic. A complementary laboratory experiment isolated the importance of noise and, in combination with the field study, showed that the enhanced reproductive success on protected reefs is likely due to improvements in parental care and offspring length. Our results suggest noise mitigation could have benefits that carry through to the population-level by increasing adult reproductive output and offspring growth, thus helping to protect coral reefs from human impacts and presenting a valuable opportunity for enhancing ecosystem resilience.

Consumer acceptability and chemical composition of whole-wheat breads incorporated with brown seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) or red seaweed (Chondrus crispus).

BACKGROUND: Seaweeds have been eaten in the diets of coastal cultures for centuries; however, consumption of seaweeds has been limited in Western diets owing to undesirable sensory characteristics and lack of familiarity. Apart from healthful bioactive metabolites, seaweeds are good sources of fibre and minerals. They are nearly a complete protein and have a low fat content (mainly mono- or polyunsaturated). The objectives were (i) to investigate if the addition of brown seaweed, Ascophyllum nodosum, or red seaweed, Chondrus crispus, altered the chemical composition and sensory properties of whole-wheat bread; and (ii) to determine what percentage the addition of brown or red seaweed to whole-wheat bread is acceptable to consumers. The two seaweeds were incorporated into separate batches of whole-wheat bread by percentage weight flour at 0% (control), 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%. RESULTS: The products containing the highest amounts of A. nodosum and C. crispus had the highest ash and total dietary fibre. A. nodosum and C. crispus breads were acceptable at 4% and 2% levels respectively. The attributes of no aftertaste, soft, and chewy drove consumer liking of the whole-wheat bread, whereas attributes dry, dense, strong aftertaste, and saltiness detracted from liking. CONCLUSION: This project's significance is to demonstrate the acceptability of seaweed in a Western population, which may lay the groundwork to encourage and promote the consumption of seaweed or to exemplify seaweed incorporation into foodstuffs. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.