Restoration Objective:
This study aimed to observe the growth of Ecklonia cava on Marine Blocks and ordinary concrete blocks, and to survey the formation of seaweed beds on Marine Blocks. Marine forests play an important role as nursery and breeding spaces for commercial fish, shellfish, and other animals such as abalone and sea urchin. Therefore, it is important to study the growth of Ecklonia cava on a Marine Block in order to evaluate the suitability of this new material as artificial reef.
Site Selection Criteria:
A site was selected where an Ecklonia cava forest was present nearby.
Cause Of Decline:
Rocky intertidal reefs are often dominated by canopy-forming fucoid algae, which are often important ecosystem engineers. However, these same species are highly susceptible to anthropogenic disturbances in the nearshore coastal environment, such as human trampling, coastal sedimentation and sewage effluent discharge. In temperate Australasia, Hormosira banksii dominates much of the intertidal coastline and has many characteristics that suggest it is an important ecosystem engineer and can be negatively affected by sewage effluent discharge.
Key Reasons For Decline:
Multiple
Scientific Paper
A field test of porous carbonated blocks used as artificial reef in seaweed beds of Ecklonia cava. Springer
Nineteenth International Seaweed Symposium.
https://doi.org/10.1007/sl0811-008-9332-6
