Table 1. Potential approaches for designing shallow marine carbonate systems to target specific ecosystem services and the knowledge gaps associated with their implementation.
| Desired Ecosystem Services | ED interventions | Knowledge gaps |
|---|---|---|
| Food Resources and Tourism | ||
| Sustainable reef-related fisheries (including economically important organisms such as molluscs, holothurians, etc.) | Lagoon habitat expansion for targeted fisheries Targeted use of artificial frameworks, coral outplanting to improve reef structural complexity in local habitats Mariculture of seagrass or corals to provide suitable habitat for target species (e.g., conchs, juvenile fish) | Associated foundation species required to initiate sustainable ecosystem for fisheries Limited understanding of the habitat and organismal connectivity; ecology, biogeochemical cycling, carbonate connectivity etc. Species-interactions (competition vs mutualism) and optimum conditions for mariculture of designed habitats |
| High biodiversity and seascape morphology for recreational underwater tourism | Construction of small-scale reef structures or artificial reefs that support increasing reef biodiversity and biomass Increasing resilience to environmental stress through molecular interventions (introduced symbiont shuffling, probiotics, assisted evolution) |
Potential physicochemical impacts (hydrodynamics, structural complexity) on existing communities from implementing artificial reefs Potential side effects of interventions from introducing non-native species or genes. Understanding trade-offs with other biological functions of these organisms is crucial |
| Attractive vacation beaches | Mass production of sediments for beaches through mariculture of carbonate sediment producers (e.g., “living sand” foraminifera) Management of bioeroder populations for optimal sediment production |
Limited understanding of species-specific carbonate sediment production rates, sediment transport dynamics, and the influence of habitat structural complexity Considered management that weighs the risk of damaging existing carbonate framework with benefits of generating additional sediments for beaches |
| Shoreline Protection and Nourishment | ||
| Shoreline protection through wave energy dissipation | Artificial frameworks which promote coral or calcareous encruster settlement; coral outplanting Electrolysis-mediated carbonate precipitation on reefs to augment loss of wave energy dissipation from reef degradation |
Potential for promoting reef framework development through culturing encrusting organisms such as coralline red algae, foraminifera Feasibility of scaling |
| Reef island nourishment | Mass production of sediments for beaches through mariculture of carbonate sediment producers (e.g., “living sand” foraminifera) Management of bioeroder populations for optimal sediment production |
Limited understanding of species-specific carbonate sediment production rates, sediment transport dynamics, and the influence of habitat structural complexity. Considered management that weighs the risk of damaging existing carbonate framework with benefits of generating additional sediments for beaches |
| Management of sediment transport pathways | Manipulating current channels from carbonate production (sources) to intended deposition (sink) | Quantifying hydrodynamic effects, side effects of reducing sediment export to deeper water (slope stability) |
| Carbon Sequestration | ||
| Medium- to long-term storage of carbon | Increasing carbon sequestration through exploiting organic-inorganic feedbacks (photosynthesis-calcification) | Limited understanding of the temporal scaling in carbon sequestration, as well as optimal co-culturing pathways and source-to-sink dynamics for longer-term carbon burial. |