Project Profile: ARMSRestore
ARMS to reefs: A new tool to restore coral reef biodiversity, fisheries yields, and human health in Madagascar
Who?
| Principal Investigators: | Aaron Hartmann, Harvard University Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, United States |
| Partners: | Christopher Golden, Harvard University TH Chan School of Public Health, United States Gildas Todinanahary, University of Tolaria Fishery and Marine Science Institute, Madagascar Max Troell, Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics/Royal Swedish Academy of the Sciences, Sweden |
| Sponsors: | Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, Sweden Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sweden/African countries National Science Foundation, United States |
What?
| Full Project Title: | ARMS to reefs: A new tool to restore coral reef biodiversity, fisheries yields, and human health in Madagascar |
| Full Call Title: | Oceans2018 |
| Website: |
Why?
| Project Objective: | Coral reefs are one of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet and are being lost at an alarming rate due to human activities. The loss of reefs threatens human lives because coral reefs provide food, income, and shoreline protection. In response, reef restoration programs are being implemented worldwide. These programs are particularly necessary in Madagascar where reef fisheries have declined, contributing to widespread malnourishment. Our team will employ a novel tool to build reef ecosystems and grow fisheries to improve human health and well-being. Corals are the focus of most restoration projects because they build the reef's foundation. Often overlooked is that reefs require many more species to support large populations of harvested species and carry out critical ecosystem services. Many of these species are challenging to collect and move. We can overcome this issue using autonomous reef monitoring structures (ARMS). In just a year, ARMS secured to the seafloor passively accumulate most reef biodiversity. We will seed reef biodiversity onto ARMS on healthy Madagascar reefs then move them to artificial reefs. By bringing everything else. |
| Call Objective: | This CRA call aims to contribute to the overall challenge of ocean sustainability, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) as the overall framework. This call encourages global partnerships of academics and non-academics to address one or more of the following topics: 1) Pathways toward a sustainable and equitable use of oceans, 2) accounting for and minimizing impacts of global change. |
Where?
| Regions: | |
| Countries: | Madagascar, Sweden, United States of America (USA) |
When?
| Duration: | 36 |
| Call Date: | 29 October 2018 |
| Project Award Date: | 12 February 2020 |
