Shark Research & Conservation Program (SRC)
鲨鱼研究和保护计划
University of Miami
迈阿密大学
By Jon Dorsey, RJD Intern
作者：Jon Dorsey
翻译：郝老西
It is evident that the ocean's conditions are changing at alarming rates due to natural disasters and man’s activities. Pressures such as global warming, hurricanes and boat groundings all increase the environmental and physical stresses on delicate coral reefs. As a consequence of these increases pressured, coral reefs are rapidly reducing in size. After witnessing the destruction of the corals reefs off Grand Cayman after a hurricane passed through, Todd Barber founded the Reef Ball Foundation in 1993. Originally this foundation was focused on building these structures solely for coral reef restoration, but their innovative design has opened doors to many other types of restoration projects such as oyster reefs, mangrove plantings, and even beach erosion control.
种种迹象表明，由于自然灾害和人类活动影响，海洋正在以惊人速度发生变化。全球变暖、飓风、船只搁浅等因素都加大了对脆弱的珊瑚礁的环境和物理压力，其后果是，珊瑚礁面积正在迅速减少。1993年的飓风过后，大开曼岛外的珊瑚礁遭到严重破坏，托德·巴伯目睹这一惨状之后随即创建了珊瑚礁基金会（Reef Ball Foundation）。最初，基金会的核心工作是建造专门用于珊瑚礁修复的构筑物，但其创新的设计为许多其他类别的生态修复项目打开了大门，包括牡蛎礁重构、红树林种植以及海滩侵蚀控制。
Reef Balls come in over 10 sizes and have 20 different styles due to their multipurpose usage. The basic reef restoration Reef Ball is a hollow semicircle with an opening at the top and is made out of a special concrete that has been estimated to last up to 500 years in the water. They were engineered to withstand the chemical and physical elements of the ocean. Wave tank testing has indicated that they are stable enough to not overturn in rough waters due to their sponge-like design. This design not only allows the kinetic waters to go through the holes in the side, lowering the pressure being put on the outer walls, and displaces water out of the top as a sponge does through their operculum, but the design also allows for the cycling of nutrients over the whole surface area of the Reef Ball. Minuscule currents push the nutrient rich ocean waters around the inner and outer areas of the reef ball, providing nourishment for all the growing coral. The concrete walls have a rough surface texture to enhance coral settlement by trapping the larvae in grooves or crevices. All these independent physical factors have added to the increasing global success of the reef balls. Proof of their success is in the fact that the Reef Ball Foundation has deployed coral reef nurturing sites in over 59 countries.
由于用途的多样性，珊瑚礁球共有超过10种型号和20种风格。基本型号是由特殊的混凝土制成的顶部开口的中空球体，在水中存续时间估计达500年，采用了适应于海洋化学、物理条件的工程设计方法。波浪水槽试验表明，珊瑚礁球采用了类似海绵（多孔）门动物的设计，这种设计不仅可以让表面的水流通过球壁上的洞流入球体内部，从而降低外壁的压力，他的稳定性足以达到即使在波涛汹涌的水中礁体也不会倾覆，而且可以将水从顶部喷出，类似海绵门动物通过顶部鳃盖喷水，这一设计也考虑到了整个珊瑚礁球表面的营养循环，微小的水流推动营养丰富的海水围绕着珊瑚礁球的内部和外部区域，为所有正在生长的珊瑚提供营养。礁球的混凝土表面纹理粗糙，有利于珊瑚幼虫在沟槽或缝隙处的沉降和附着。所有这些独立的因素都助力于珊瑚礁球全球成功，珊瑚礁球基金会在59个国家建立了珊瑚礁投放和培育基地，这足以证明他的成功。
Caption: Reef Balls out on the Dominican Republic beach waiting to be sunk. All rights to this picture belong to the Reed Ball Foundation at www.reefball.org
多米尼加共和国海滩附近，即将投放的珊瑚礁球。
图片版权归珊瑚礁球基金会 www.reefball.org网站。
Other than providing an ideal developing site for coral reefs, Reefs balls have been shown to offer a stable home for oyster farms and mangrove plantings. Oyster populations along the east coast of the United States have been dwindling and are now only a fraction of what they were only 20 years ago. Oyster farmers are having a tough time meeting the necessary quota for the market, and the solution for some of these farmers are Reef Balls. The Reef Balls provide a steady support for the growing oysters in the shallow waters in which they are found. Not only are oysters economically important, their environmental niche is to act as a water purifier. An individual oyster can filter up to 20 gallons of water in one hour, so the depletion of these species would result in the eutrophication of shallow local waters, which inevitably would restrict the amount of life found in that area (Gaurier, et al. 2011). Reef Balls typically yield 100% coverage by oysters as a result of concrete made with a pH that is suitable for oyster larvae to attach. Typical concrete has a pH close to 12, but this specialized concrete mixed with microsilica has a pH close to 8.3 which is much closer to the pH of natural sea water.
除了为珊瑚礁提供理想的生长场地外，珊瑚礁球可以成为牡蛎养殖、红树林的稳定生长环境。美国东海岸的牡蛎数量持续减少，现在的数量不到20年前的一个零头。牡蛎养殖户还都在苦日子中煎熬，难以达到市场配额的需求，而“礁球”正在成为部分养殖户选择的解决办法。在浅水区，珊瑚礁球可以为牡蛎生长提供容易寻找的稳定支撑。牡蛎不仅具有重要的经济意义，而且在生态系统中承担着净水器的独特作用，单个牡蛎在一小时内能过滤20加仑（约75升）的水，因此牡蛎的减少将会导致浅水地区的富营养化，这不可避免地导致该地区生物数量的减少（Gaurier等人，2011年）。通过采用适合牡蛎幼体附着的pH值的混凝土，礁石球上牡蛎的覆盖率可以达到100%。典型的混凝土pH值接近12，但混合硅微粉后的混凝土pH值接近8.3，更接近于天然海水的pH值。
Mangroves are also another critical species that are showing positive growth due to Reef Balls. Mangroves are a type of endangered tree that inhabit fringe areas between fresh and salt water systems. Global declines of mangrove forests have been shown to be up to 4 times that of land forest depletion (Sjoling, et al. 2005). Mangroves aid in filtering land runoff from entering the ocean, provide a safe nursery ground for juvenile species, and help buffer wave action which stabilizes shoreline sediments. For these reasons, it is essential to help mangroves turn around their declining numbers. The Reef Ball Foundation has engineered a Mangrove Planting System that aids the direct planting of the plant's propagules. The design specializes in promoting growth in high wave energy areas and creates a durable anchoring system. Along with that, it provides the tree with sufficient non-competitive space so the plant can focus on growth rather than ways to move around blockades from other plants’ roots or buried debris. Although this is a new field for the Reef Ball Foundation, promising results are coming from Mangrove plantings in Antigua and Grand Cayman.
红树林是另一类可以由珊瑚礁球促进其生长的重要物种。红树林栖息在淡水和海水交界的边缘地区，是一种濒危树种。事实证明，全球红树林减少的速度是陆地森林耗竭的4倍（Sjoling等人，2005年）。陆地径流进入海洋之前可以通过红树林进行过滤，红树林还可以为物种幼苗提供安全的庇护地，还可以通过对波浪运动的缓冲起到稳定海岸线沉积物的作用。有鉴于上述原因，红树林数量日益减少的态势必须扭转。珊瑚礁球基金会设计的红树林整体种植方案，可以用植物繁殖体直接进行种植，对红树植株进行持久锚固，确保幼苗在海浪剧烈区域能够正常生长。除此之外，珊瑚礁球还可以为红树林提供足够的非竞争性的生长空间，红树林可以专心致志往上长，而不需要穿过其他植物的根系或掩埋在地下的树木碎片的封锁。虽然这是珊瑚礁球基金会的一个新领域，但在安提瓜和大开曼岛的种植成效，十分令人振奋。
Caption: Clear results from a Reef Ball that has been sunk for about a year. All rights to this picture belong to the Reef Ball Foundation at www.reefball.org
投放大约一年的珊瑚礁球，效果清晰可见。
In sandy locations where mangroves are not found, beach erosion is a perpetual problem. Beaches are constantly getting worn away due to continuous wave action and tidal currents. To maintain sand retention and lower the risk of currents for eco-tourism hot spots, Reef Balls are also a solution. Along the southern shore of the Dominican Republic near Bayahibe, about 450 Reef Balls are set up along the beach to act as a submerged breakwater. To demonstrate the Reef Ball's effectiveness and endurance, the Dominican Republic beach shortly after installation, in 1993, was hit by Hurricanes Georges and there was no after effect from the hurricane. The beach itself appeared to be untouched, as well as the beaches surrounding. Besides the fact that the Reef Balls successful acted as breakwaters, not a single Reef Ball was damaged or displaced (Torres, et al. 2001).
在没有红树林沙质海岸，海滩侵蚀是一个永久的问题。由于不断的波浪和潮流作用，海滩会不断地被磨损。特别是在生态旅游热点的海边地区，为了保持沙滩的稳定、减少水流危险，投放珊瑚礁是可以采用的解决方案。在多米尼加共和国南部海岸的巴亚希贝附近的沙滩上，放置了大约450个珊瑚礁球，形成了一道水下防波堤，在安放珊瑚礁球后不久的1993年，这一海滩受到乔治飓风的袭击，而飓风后所有礁球没有受到任何影响，充分证明了珊瑚礁球的效力和耐力，而且海滩本身和周围的海滩似乎都没有受到影响，珊瑚礁球成功地起到了防波堤的作用，没有一个珊瑚礁球被损坏或移位（Torres等人，2001年）。
Reef Balls have demonstrated an outstanding ability to serve multiple purposes in aiding the development of different species. Thanks to their ingenious designs, coral reefs, mangroves, oysters, and many other species have a chance to turn around their declining populations trends to achieve ecological success. Through the implication of more Reef Balls in critical areas, it could be possible to save these species. Along with the nurturing, Reef Balls also play a role in protecting beaches from erosion. The Reef Balls control the amount of wave action and currents, so many ecotourism sites can really benefit from the predictable beach conditions. The Reef Ball Foundation has developed into a promising program will hopefully maintain continual success.
珊瑚礁球可以促进多个物种的发展、具有一举多得的功效，表现出卓越的能力。得益于其精妙的设计，珊瑚礁、红树林、牡蛎和许多其他种群数量正在日益减少的物种，受迎来了转机，可以在生态恢复方面取得成功。通过在一些关键地区增加珊瑚礁球的投放，就有可能拯救这些濒临危险的物种。除了可以进行生态修复，珊瑚礁球还可以在保护海滩免受侵蚀方面发挥作用，礁石球控制着海浪的作用和水流的数量，海滩状况处于可预控的状态，生态旅游景点可以真正从中获益。礁石球基金会已经发展成为很有广阔前景的项目并将获得持续的成功。
REFERENCES
Sjoling, S., et al.”Benthic Bacterial Diversity and Nutrient Processes in Mangroves: Impact of Deforestation.” Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 63.3 (2005): 397- 406. Print.
Gaurier, Benoît, et al. “Experimental and Numerical Characterization of an Oyster Farm Impact on the Flow.” European Journal of Mechanics – B/Fluids 3.5 (2011): 513-25. Print.
Torres, Ruben, et al. “Sedimentation as an Important Environmental Influence on Dominican Republic Reefs.” Bulletin of Marine Science 69.2 (2001): 805-18. Print.
