Actually, there were some efforts to clean up at least one reef. See
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=120921.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=120921.
Question about the sand on the reefs?
- Thread starter Brules
- Start date
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scubabum2:
What did they do, exactly? Normally a "reef clean up" to me involves debris removal... we don't have time to fin sand off much of anything.
OP
Brules
Contributor
Yeah I remember the reef clean up effort to remove debris, I just figured it might be as easy as using a giant underwater blower and swooooooooosh wash away the stain! 
Guess not!
Well here is to Mother Nature, get to work M'am!!!!!
Guess not! Well here is to Mother Nature, get to work M'am!!!!!
cjames
Contributor
I tried every so often to wave some of the sand off, its literally like picking a grain of sand of a beach in an attempt to clean it. Still made me feel good though. Archman, I saw in your profile you're a phd candidate on this stuff. Have you seen any large skill efforts to farm and transplant polyps to help speed the recovery? I have a reef tank so I know what is involved in raising corals, but it seems like even a small effort my help.
A lot of large-scale reef restoration is to fix damage done by ship groundings. Those are the super-expensive, high profile activities. Here's one that was done off Florida.
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/special/columbus/columbus.html
On less grand scales, there's the (relatively) cheaper efforts of folks like this.
http://www.reefball.com/map/antiguascience/reef_ball_foundation_coral_propa.htm
Those reef balls weigh a ton, let me tell ya!
This is kinda cool too.
http://www.ecoreefs.com/home.php
Typically it's easier for coral reef managers to construct these artificial reef structures, and then let natural coral larvae from somewhere else settle on it and re-establish new hermatypic colonies. The long-term hope is that the live corals will successfully grow over these manmade structures to the extent that they don't *implode* the fake habitat, but have built up enough bioherm capacity of their own.
Of course, all this implies that there's a good supply of baby coral larvae floating around in the water column. Which means there's live coral reefs somewhere else locally.
Cozumel's surrounded by deep walls, which are covered in corals. Not only are these deeper corals better protected against natural or manmade damage, but they're perfect sources of local larvae that can resettle on damaged shallow reefs.
http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/special/columbus/columbus.html
On less grand scales, there's the (relatively) cheaper efforts of folks like this.
http://www.reefball.com/map/antiguascience/reef_ball_foundation_coral_propa.htm
Those reef balls weigh a ton, let me tell ya!
This is kinda cool too.
http://www.ecoreefs.com/home.php
Typically it's easier for coral reef managers to construct these artificial reef structures, and then let natural coral larvae from somewhere else settle on it and re-establish new hermatypic colonies. The long-term hope is that the live corals will successfully grow over these manmade structures to the extent that they don't *implode* the fake habitat, but have built up enough bioherm capacity of their own.
Of course, all this implies that there's a good supply of baby coral larvae floating around in the water column. Which means there's live coral reefs somewhere else locally.
Cozumel's surrounded by deep walls, which are covered in corals. Not only are these deeper corals better protected against natural or manmade damage, but they're perfect sources of local larvae that can resettle on damaged shallow reefs.
OP
Brules
Contributor
Wow, very cool, and great info.......!!!!
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