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Harvard University

Publication Date

Spring 2024

Program Name

Madagascar: Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management

Abstract

The southwest coast of Madagascar is home to hundreds of miles of coral reefs that for decades have been susceptible to intense degradation due to anthropogenic influences on marine environments. For reasons involving economic opportunity, conservation strategies, human health safeguarding and advancements to coral research, coral aquaculture in the Toliara region presents an opportunity to restore quality of life and the environment. Other countries in the west Indian ocean have seen great success in coral aquaculture; however, Madagascar, despite having ideal natural circumstances, has not deeply explored coral aquaculture. This review presents an investigation into the feasibility of coral farming, both in-situ and ex-situ in this region. The feasibility report presents information on the status of an in-situ coral nursery that was reared in January 2019 for the sake of investigating the potential longevity in reef nursery projects. The ex-situ study reports on a first attempt of growing corals ex-situ in southwestern Madagascar for the sake of having environments in which controlled experimentation can be done on local corals. This is a holistic overview of environmental and ecological conditional indicators of coral nursery health in in-situ and ex-situ environments. The in-situ study reveals that there is great potential for the long term success of human-induced coral nurseries in this region based on the accumulation of biomass, intense growth of coral and overall biodiversity with 36 species of coral, fish and algae identified. These nurseries can be used as sources of healthy coral for bolstering struggling natural reefs, as environments for education and potentially for rearing corals to participate in the global coral trade. The ex-situ study reveals conditions under which corals of the species A. muricata have the best health margin based on the variable of irradiance. The data reveals that keeping ex-situ ponds out of direct sunlight to minimize temperature and pH allows for highest survivability.

Disciplines

Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Marine Biology | Natural Resources and Conservation | Oceanography | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

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