How we're giving reefs a chance

The urgency of the coral crisis motivates our research. Our cross-disciplinary approach and custom Reef Solutions Toolkit helps us identify early indicators of ecosystem stress–and intervene before the visual signs of decline are apparent.

What's in the Toolkit?

We've constructed a Toolkit of intervention and health tracking methods to restore, treat and protect coral reefs and reef ecosystems. We’re working to make the Toolkit user-friendly so that it can be used by people around the globe with little training or technical expertise required.

Robotics

Map coral cover + condition
Collect biodiversity + invasive species data
Early warning system for bleaching

Bioacoustics

Attract coral larvae
Sound-based health diagnostics
Understand fisheries+ ecosystem health

Advanced Diagnostics

Monitor coral health
Determine water quality
Examine chemical + microbial signs of stress

Hydrodynamics

Map currents + temperature
Predict coral larval transport + settlement
Model + forecast environmental changes
Identify + prioritize restoration sites

Health Interventions

Coral probiotics
Vitamin supplements
Metabolomics to diagnose+ treat disease

Our Approach to Coral Reef Research

Interventions Advanced Diagnostics

Interventions

REEF SOUNDS TO ATTRACT LARVE

Can we use sound to build back reefs?

Our research shows that coral larvae are attracted to reefs with vibrant soundscapes. In addition to our long-term soundscape studies, we developed a novel, robust, cost-effective tool to enrich the acoustic environment in the field and lab restoration settings. We’re currently running a series of studies to determine how best to apply this acoustic enrichment tool.

Reef sounds to attract larvae Can we use sound to build back reefs?

Guiding reef restoration with hydrodynamic models In highly diverse and complex reef ecosystems, water conditions and circulation can vary between coral colonies

Vitamins for corals Can a multivitamin help save coral reefs?

Probiotics for corals Like humans, corals rely on microorganisms to keep them healthy.

Advanced Diagnostics

REEF ROBOTICS

Robots for reefs

Dive trips are fun, but they’re also slow and expensive. That’s why WHOI robotics engineer Yogi Girdhar developed CUREE, a “smart” robot that can observe and sample complex reef ecosystems over a wider area and longer time series than possible with traditional surveys.

With CUREE’s AI-assisted tools, scientists can identify and track various reef species, quantify biodiversity, and map reef habitat. Because the robot’s movements are so precise, it can operate safely near fragile corals while taking chemical measurements and collecting water samples. Combined with reef soundscapes, CUREE’s visual tools could provide an early-warning system for ecosystems in peril.

Reef robotics WHOI robotics engineer Yogi Girdhar developed CUREE, a “smart” robot that can observe and sample complex reef ecosystems

Reef metabolism Reef organisms, like humans, need oxygen to survive.

Reef soundscapes We have built the world’s longest ongoing coral reef soundscape monitoring project to quantify reef health and biodiversity.

Microbiome + metabolites Just like the human digestive system, a healthy reef has an active microbiome.

Coral stress indicators A key part of the immune system in all forms of life are short-lived oxygen-bearing molecules, called reactive oxygen species (ROS).

How we're giving reefs a chance

What's in the Toolkit?

Robotics

Bioacoustics

Advanced Diagnostics

Hydrodynamics

Health Interventions

Our Approach to Coral Reef Research

Can we use sound to build back reefs?

Robots for reefs

WHOI Research

WHOI Academics