I built an electrified coral reef to save corals

[@Seamemaria]

Got any questions about biorock? :D

[@theconsul4757]

I've heard of old ships being sunk to provide artificial reefs for fish, do you think this biorock tech could be adapted to that scale?

[@a13x_chang]

@@theconsul4757potentially, would depend on the ship material conductivity

[@msterpatatas]

Kudos for another informative and inspiring video! 😊 My question is, did you ever got the chance to learn about previous mistakes, and common misconceptions regarding building and deployment of biorocks?

[@fo4urm640]

I've heard climate temps 2°c+ above the pre-industrial would make coral unviable. Does the additional help that biorock provides make these higher temps survivable?

[@Seamemaria]

@@theconsul4757 I'd guess it would depend on the size and materia of the ship and power supply

[@15siany]

Such a great video! Looks like you had a lot of fun and thanks for planting so many corals for our planet!

[@Seamemaria]

Hi Sian!! Thank you for your support

[@wildworld6264]

This is very cool! It's great to see that biorock can help restore coral reefs like this. Are the biorock structures also susceptible to the same pollution that destroys the natural coral reefs? Does the biorock offer more protection? Anyway another great video. Glad to see you posting again.

[@Seamemaria]

I'm happy to be back! The biorock seems to provide corals enough energy to better fight back stressors than other corals. However, to what extent we still don't know. Unfortunately, there haven't been many studies done on this, especially related to long-term survival of different species. I would suspect that different species will react differently to growing on biorock. Hopefully we will eventually get some answers on that regard.

[@j4v4x]

That was epic! I felt like I just watched a full length film, at the end I was chanting "Go little sea turtle, go!!" I look forward to updates on Sharkeira. If you're still here on youtube, Maria, I'll be here too! Plastics manufacturers: You need to fund this type of research. *shakes finger*

[@Seamemaria]

Thank you! I'm very glad you enjoyed it♥️

[@boberto785]

Its always a blast watching your cheerful videos! Keep it up Maria!

[@Seamemaria]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it

[@DnDBatKid]

Wait this is what the trip was for? That's the coolest thing I have ever seen. Completely unrelated, if you are looking for a new game to play (for content or on your down time) Planet Crafter is not purely about marine life, but about an entire planets biosphere ( i think thats the right term) its really cool and fun. Either way fantastic work and thank you for the upload.

[@Seamemaria]

Uh cool! I'm gonna check out that game. Thanks for the recommendation! :D

[@andrescanales9719]

0:37 Yes!! I found this channel recently and was binge watching your videos. One of them mentioned the trip and I was so sad it had already passed

[@miguelguerreiro5280]

I am happy you are back! It is really great that you make a big mention to the locals, as they are the main reason for the success of these initiatives.

[@Seamemaria]

Totally agree. They are the backbone of marine conservation!

[@TheOnlyToblin]

This is a really cool and fascinating method of replenishing coral reefs. I am looking forward to more science around these reefs.

[@chalkandrubble5702]

Appreciate these informative videos and your filming techniques so much!!!

[@vinnycostanzo7019]

Right on, you explain things so well, Thank you!!!!

[@Seamemaria]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it :D

[@ghxst5199]

My dream job is marine biology and I'm a electrical engineer major and seeing these projects warms my heart seeing. Goal is to become a marine engineer and put my electrical knowhow marine biology and just make the ocean a safer and better place for all sea life

[@Seamemaria]

Those are amazing goals!

[@alganhar1]

Just be aware that Marine Biology is a highly competitive field, there are a lot of people vying for a relatively low number of positions. Not trying to put you off, just trying to make you aware of the fact that you may want to look into ways of making yourself stand out amongst the crowd.

[@Imbapiranha]

Oooh Maria, you're gonna start the evolution of Reapers with your experimental methods!

[@Seamemaria]

Life goal haha

[@ActiveAngel2010]

Wonderful! Sorry that my wife and I couldn't make it this time. I am almost done with repairs from our house flooding, and we are expecting a baby girl in just a few more weeks. And if all goes well, my PhD will be complete in a matter of months, while we are also already starting to plan a 2024 dive trip. Your whole trip looks wonderful! Also, your video editing has noticeably improved, and I loved all the funny sound bytes. Keep up the great work!

[@Seamemaria]

Oh amazing news for you and your wife. Congratulations on both almost finishing the PhD and the baby! Maybe in the future you can all three join a sea&me trip :D

[@ActiveAngel2010]

@@Seamemaria Absolutely! And thanks!

[@vladvulcan]

Can't get my stare off your beautiful blue eyes, Maria! and the topic you are bringing up is very important. Keep at what you are doing to highlight the problems our seas and oceans have, it's always satisfying to watch!

[@redkefy]

Thank you very much!! What you are doing is very important and this is a very informative and interesting topic. I like to see technologies applied to more practical things and especially to important issues such as the conservation of ecosystems.

[@xuko6792]

Holy-moly, you guys created cybereef! That's the real bio-engineering stuff!

[@herdouacheng05]

This is such a great video.

[@archillect1472]

I've been waiting for this video. I saw your IG reels man you guys are doing such an amazing work.

[@Seamemaria]

Aw thank you!

[@fatemehsahraei2865]

Amazing👌🏻

[@Ashtyson-b8r]

It will be dope if uni lecturers talk like you😂

[@christianatkinson5241]

love your videos 😃

[@svenhaheim]

Interesting technique, never heard of it :) maybe something that could be combined with the many wave powerplants and sea windturbines being placed today.

[@Seamemaria]

That would be brilliant. But it would need to be really well studied. The only downside I would see with that, is that these reefs actually need a bit of cleaning and maintenance, so you would need to be able long term maintenance costs at large scales, at least until the reefs are covered with the coral, point at which maintenance is not so important anymore.

[@malelonewolf80]

I would think that offshore windfarms may be constructed and utilizing biorock.

[@christophhanke6627]

Are the fish effected by this electric field? When it comes to orientation or Navigation? On TV there actually was a mini-docu about biorock xD

[@Seamemaria]

There isn't much research done on that, but I did find a paper that shows some sharks tend to visit biorock reefs less than other reefs. But unfortunately it's a relatively understudied method in terms of it's effect on individual species. I call for funding =P

[@MrAlmqvist96]

Ohhhhh sooo cool. I really like your videos :D

[@Seamemaria]

Thank you!!!

[@MrAlmqvist96]

@@Seamemaria i'm studying environmental science with a focus on natural sciences. I'm about to write a report on restoration of coral reefs this fall. Would it be a chance in the world to like interview you in the future? Either just by like dm or in another way?

[@coffeeaddictednerd]

💙🐠🐟

[@Physhi]

Ah yes the technology of the man who wanted to create an artificial island that wouldn't beholden to any country.

[@lospolloshermanos5659]

Best way to bring back the coral reefs - "Thanos Snap" humanity out of existence. Or genetically-modified "Super Coral".

[@lospolloshermanos5659]

Please play more aquatic games. Maybe the Subnautica fan mods?

[@Seamemaria]

Games are over on my second channel ;) Soon... www.youtube.com/@marpi2264

[@lospolloshermanos5659]

@@Seamemaria You should give livestreaming a try as well; I think you could really amass a large audience/community. And it doesn't just have to be gaming livestreams; you can do educational streams about marine biology; or do a half & half - half educational stream, half gaming stream. You can livestream via youtube or Twitch, or you can livestream simultaneously on twitch & youtube (in the beginning, up until you reach partner status with one or the other).

[@Eizenz]

Great video! Do the structures need to be permanently tied to a solar panel and electrified or is there a point where they feel a colony has established itself enough that it can be self sufficient and disconnected? You mentioned these are primarily in Indonesia; why do you think this method isn't more widely adopted? At least from your video they seem to be effective. Has there been any data on if certain species prefer 'real' coral vs 'it's electric!' coral? I imagine having that cathode/anode magic happening the electric field might be off-putting to some fish - but what do I know, I'm no fish. :) That was enjoyable to watch, thank you for sharing.

[@Seamemaria]

After larger reefs have been established, they probably can survive by themselves, if the conditions are good. However, there aren't any longevity studies done because this is a relatively "new" method, so we don't really know how they survive long term. They are primarily in Indonesia because the people who invented the method started it in Indonesia. There are several restoration methods, and others prefer focusing on those. And unfortunately there really isn't much money in restoration or marine conservation projects, so doing these kinds of things in large scales is usually impossible. Regarding fish, except for a couple of sharks that seem to keep away from the reefs, we don't know. There are like only 6 or7 studies done on biorock reefs in general. So there is really a lot we don't know.

[@sertandoom4693]

Amazing! There's some hope after all. How resistant to the conditions that caused the bleaching event are these biorock based reefs?

[@Seamemaria]

There is very few research on that. But some studies do suggest that biorock reefs are more resistant to bleaching than others. More research needed...

[@sertandoom4693]

@@Seamemaria The chance that these are more resistant is a huge thing- it will take a bit more to (hopefully) do something about the elevated temperatures.

[@alganhar1]

@@sertandoom4693 Problem is those elevated sea temperatures are the primary stress that causes bleaching, and while biorock reefs may help alleviate some of the other potential stresses that cause expulsion of Zooxanthellae by coral, recent record sea temperatures indicate that temperature related bleaching is only going to get worse before it gets any better. Increased sea temperature will not likely result in the extinction of coral reefs as new reefs will begin to develop in waters with a more suitable temperature regime, however, losing the current reefs, along with the long growth time of new reefs the ecological impact will be absolutely devastating. We may not lose the reefs themselves, but we most certainly could lose most of the organisms that both rely on coral reefs, and that coral reefs rely on to maintain a healthy ecosystem.... Unfortunately I cannot see any viable methods of reliably reducing sea water temperature right now because of the simple fact that for its molecular weight water has a very high specific heat capacity. We could stabilise atmospheric warming tomorrow, but it would still take decades for oceanic warming to follow suit, and by then most of the damage will have been done.

[@PartyPinda87]

Does this only work for hard corals? or also for soft corals?

[@Seamemaria]

This method is mostly for hard corals, because it's really difficult to fix soft corals to these structures.

[@PartyPinda87]

@@Seamemaria Thought that was the 'problem'. Well at least we can grow hard corals that way and only the future will tell what the final results will be.

[@MrCarassiusauratus]

aren't such things too small for the ocean? the idea itself interesting

[@Seamemaria]

Yes, this only works on local levels. But that is also very important. As I stated in the video, sometimes just by being able to make locals more interested in protecting the environment, these projects are already worth it, besides the value of restoring local biodiversity, which despite not being enough to help all world's reefs, is still worth doing.

[@SirPream]

Now we just need a way to protect these safe shallows, like some kind of fish... that explodes...

[@Seamemaria]

If only there were a game in which that happens

[@NadeemShekh-uy9zn]

You have beautiful eyes ❤😊

[@keerthanasaravanan1469]

Hlooooo maria

[@buddyguy4723]

remember when they dumped train cars and car tires for the same reason?

[@QALibrary]

how is the sea temperatures affect reefs? In the last few weeks we have broken so many sea temperatures worldwide

[@Seamemaria]

We will see. Hopefully they can survive. I have my fingers crossed that the corals are more resilient than we expect :/

[@QALibrary]

@@Seamemaria I hope so

[@alganhar1]

@@Seamemaria Current temperature related bleaching does not, unfortunately, support that hope. Even worse if we do manage to stabilise, or maybe even reduce atmospheric warming that will take decades to filter through to sea temperatures. The oceans just respond so much more slowly to temperature changes than the atmosphere does. I do not think attempts to save current reefs should halt, but I am starting to wonder if we are missing the forest for the trees somewhat. It may well be sensible establishing artificial reef systems in areas where sea temperature will likely not exceed an acceptable temperature regime to ensure that if the worst case does occur we can save as many coral and coral reef species as we possibly can. I am unaware of any major efforts to do this, though to be fair I am a cold water specialist, so I am not as up to date when it comes to the literature concerning coral reefs as other Marine Ecologists might be.