Role in the project
The ULPGC will dedicate its research efforts to cold-water corals, seaweed forests and seagrass meadows in order to define the best restoration strategies for these three habitats.
Specifically, by (1) assessing the spawning and fertilization kinetics and the influence of flow conditions and population density on fertilization rates and larvae recruitment of black coral species, and (2) to estimate the critical restoration size for restoration defined as the Minimum Conservation Unit size for black corals and brown macroalgae forests. These objectives can be achieved thanks to the experience acquired by other members of RESTORESEAS consortium with similar species (cold-water corals, macroalgae and seagrass), contrasting restoration approaches across multiple models and sites. Hence, black coral experiments will be possible thanks to complementary expertise sharing across partners, specially the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) on various coral taxa to collect sperm and eggs, and manage sexual reproduction in captivity through artificial induction and environmental factors. In a similar way, the previous successful long-term seagrass and macroalgae restoration programs developed by Portuguese partners (CCMAR and University of Azores), will benefit the ULPGC objectives, with their expertise in the definition of minimum critical transplant size and other measures to be incorporated in restoration guidelines.
Besides, inside the Scientific and Public communication activities of the project, the ULPGC will also co-organize jointly with UFSC, annual summer schools bringing together RESTORESEAS members involved in restoration activities with local stakeholders, young scientists, and students outside the project, to generate critical mass for restoration initiatives and ensuring both capacity building and the sharing of benefits created by the project.
Team members
Ricardo Jesús Haroun Tabraue
Director of the University Research Institute ECOAQUA
In the last decades I have been involved in different scientific projects and citizen sciences initiatives to promote both the knowledge and the sustainable use of marine biota, mainly in the Canary Islands and nearby geographic areas. Inside the RESTORESEAS project I would like to contribute to foster the dissemination of the pivotal role of healthy marine habitats in the wellbeing on coastal communities. In this sense, we hope to convey the urgent message of marine conservation to future generations, including decision-makers and diverse social groups.
Francisco Otero Ferrer
I am interested in (i) helping bridge the big knowledge gap about fertilization rate and success in temperate black corals, and (ii) defining a minimum conservation unit for these marine animals forests able to keep their ecosystem functions and services, as a benchmark for long-term planning and monitoring of future conservation and restoration actions.
Latest blog posts
Exploring the importance of underwater currents for the survival of Black Coral Forests
Black corals create extensive animal forests in the Canary Islands, providing habitat, food and shelter for a myriad of organisms. These keystone habitats are intricately linked to flow intensity, shaping the presence, morphology and distribution of these suspension...
A Black Coral’s Survival Story
Based on: Gouveia, A., Godefroid, M., Dubois, P., Espino, F., Tuya, F., Haroun, R., Herrera, A. and Otero-Ferrer, F., 2023. Thermal stress response of Antipathella wollastoni (Gray, 1857) from the Canary Islands archipelago. Coral Reefs, pp.1-7. In the cool, shadowy...