More than 4,600 corals have been transplanted to the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) after being raised in nurseries, which are colloquially known as “nurseries.” The project has been carried out with the aim of repopulating the seabed of the archipelago after the serious consequences for the biodiversity of the area caused by the climatic phenomenon of ‘El Niño’.
The Galapagos Archipelago, recognized for its unique biodiversity, was seriously affected by this meteorological phenomenon, which altered ecosystems by bringing warmer ocean waters and greater amounts of rain. This problem generates negative impacts on marine species and certain terrestrial species, also increasing the risks associated with invasive plants.
‘El Niño’ caused between 1982-1983 and 1996-1997 the mortality of 95% of living tissue in coral reefs, due to the anomalous increase in sea temperatures in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, unbearable for these life forms.
Today, remains of that devastation can be seen in places such as Rosa Blanca Bay, in San Cristóbal, the easternmost island of the archipelago. There are thousands of fragments of stone skeletons of corals, which completely cover a nearby cove.
It is for this reason that the Galapagos National Park (PNG) undertook a coral restoration project, indicates the EFE agency. In the coral nursery, located in Santa Cruz, we work with two methodologies: high mesh beds for massive corals (which need a fixed substrate to grow), and beds with ropes for branched ones (which grow with branches like a plant). .
Likewise, they have placed coral lines at different levels to find out at what depth they can best adapt. Normally massive corals take a year to grow from one to three centimeters, while branched ones grow between 8 to 10 centimeters. At the moment they have transplanted 128 fragments of four species, a low number because they are focused on knowing which species are resilient to sudden changes in temperature.
