A new approach to treating damaged coral reefs, developed at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, could hold the key to restoring declining coral populations.

By World Israel News Staff

Research conducted jointly by scientists in Israel and Australia has revealed that damaged or dying coral reefs may be restored through the transplanting of healthy reefs, offering hope for reviving coral populations in decline around the world.

The new study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Communications, was led by Dr. Natalie Levy and Prof. Oren Levy from Bar-Ilan University in collaboration with Prof. Ezri Tarazi of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and Prof. David Bourne of James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

The study introduced a method known as “a coral reef ecosystem transplant” (aCRET), where researchers transferred biomimetic terracotta tiles embedded with a diverse community of organisms—including invertebrates and beneficial microorganisms—from a healthy reef to a nearby damaged reef.

The corals from the damaged reef were then attached to these tiles.

The results demonstrated notable improvements in coral health, including increased photosynthetic efficiency, higher populations of symbiotic algae, and reduced stress levels.

These findings suggest that transplanting a healthy ecosystem can significantly boost coral resilience and physiological function.

The researchers designed the biomimetic terracotta tiles to replicate the complex 3D structure of natural coral reefs, providing a perfect environment for diverse organisms to thrive.

After allowing the organisms to grow on the tiles for six months, the tiles—along with their rich, biologically active substrate—were transported to the damaged reef located six km away.

Following an additional six months, corals on these tiles showed substantial improvements compared to corals grown on tiles with substrate from the damaged reef.

In a parallel experiment, the researchers confirmed that the transfer of substrate from a damaged reef to a healthy reef produced less favorable results, reinforcing the benefits of the healthy reef ecosystem transplant.

“This innovative approach underscores the critical role of healthy reef ecosystems in restoring coral health and resilience,” said Dr. Natalie Levy, lead researcher of the study.

“The results highlight the potential of ecosystem transplantation as an effective, sustainable restoration tool that can be integrated with other coral restoration methods like coral gardening and artificial reefs.”

The study’s findings point to aCRETs as a viable and flexible solution for coral reef restoration globally, especially in areas facing significant environmental stress.

This cost-effective technique could complement and enhance existing restoration strategies, helping to protect and restore coral ecosystems vital for marine biodiversity.

However, the researchers stress that for the best outcomes, local reefs should be selected as close as possible for transplanting, and additional long-term studies are essential to fully understand the ecological impacts on different coral species and reef environments.

“This research advances our understanding of coral restoration and provides an invaluable tool to help address the ongoing global coral crisis,” said Prof. Oren Levy.

“By using healthy ecosystems to regenerate damaged reefs, we can work towards more resilient, sustainable coral ecosystems that may one day recover from climate change and other threats.”

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Researchers from Tel Aviv University say deadly epidemic has already wiped out an entire population of urchins in the northern Gulf of Eilat essential to the coral reef ecosystem.

By World Israel News Staff

A series of new, disturbing studies from Tel Aviv University reveal a deadly epidemic is causing mass mortality of black sea urchins in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Eilat.

The entire population of black sea urchins in Eilat was wiped out over a couple of months, researchers warned Wednesday.

For example, thousands of sea urchins living in a site near the northern shore of the Gulf of Eilat died out over the course of a few weeks.

The epidemic was so severe, that today no living black sea urchins have remained at the site, only skeletons. The same has happened at other sites in the Gulf of Eilat. The studies note that such extensive mortality is also occurring in other countries in the region, including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Turkey.

The researchers emphasize that sea urchins in general, and the long-spined Diadema setosum in particular, are considered key species essential for the healthy functioning of the coral reef.

“It must be understood that the threat to coral reefs is already at an all-time peak, and now a previously unknown variable has been added,” the researchers said. “This situation is unprecedented in the entire documented history of the Gulf of Eilat.”

The source of the deadly epidemic is believed to be a pathogenic ciliate parasite that has spread from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

An urgent report describing the current situation has been submitted to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and emergency steps for protecting Israel’s coral reefs are now under consideration.

‘Fast and violent death’

The studies were led by Dr. Omri Bronstein and PhD students Rotem Zirler, Lisa-Maria Schmidt, Gal Eviatar, and Lachan Roth from the School of Zoology, Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The papers were published in Frontiers in Marine science and Royal Society Open Science.

“At first we thought it was some kind of pollution or poisoning, or a local chemical spill, from the industry and hotels in the north of the Gulf of Eilat, but when we examined additional sites in Eilat, Jordan, and Sinai, we quickly realized that this was not a local incident,” Dr. Bronstein said.

“All findings pointed to a rapidly spreading epidemic. Similar reports are coming in from colleagues in Saudi Arabia. Even sea urchins that we grow for research purposes in our aquariums at the Interuniversity Institute, and sea urchins at the Underwater Observatory Marine Park in Eilat, contracted the disease and died, probably because the pathogen got in through the pumping systems.”

“It’s a fast and violent death: within just two days a healthy sea urchin becomes a skeleton with massive tissue loss. While some corpses are washed ashore, most sea urchins are devoured while they are dying and unable to defend themselves, which could speed up contagion by the fish who prey on them.”

“In recent years my research group has been studying the issue of marine invasions. One of the species we focus on is the long-spined Diadema setosum. Until recently this was one of the dominant species in Eilat’s coral reef – the black sea urchins with long spines familiar to all of us.”

“Sea urchins in general, and Diadema setosum in particular, are considered key species essential for the healthy functioning of coral reefs. The sea urchins are the reef’s ‘gardeners’ – they feed on the algae and prevent them from taking over and suffocating the corals that compete with them for sunlight. Unfortunately, these sea urchins no longer exist in the Gulf of Eilat and are quickly disappearing from constantly expanding parts of the Red Sea further south.”

The first reports on mass mortality reached Dr. Bronstein several months ago, from colleagues in Greece and Turkey, which the sea urchins had invaded, probably through the Suez Canal.

“In 2006 the first sea urchin of this species was discovered in the south of Turkey,” added Dr. Bronstein.

“This phenomenon, known as biological invasion, has extensive ecological implications, and is widespread in the eastern Mediterranean, especially along Israel’s coastline. We have been tracking the dynamics of this species’ invasion in the Mediterranean since its first appearance.”

“In 2016 we discovered the first Diadema setosum sea urchin along Israel’s Mediterranean coastline – a single urchin at the Gordon Beach in Tel Aviv. For over a decade since the first discovery in Turkey, populations in the Mediterranean remained small and usually hidden.”

“But since 2018 the sea urchin population in the Mediterranean has been growing exponentially, reaching a state of population explosion – with giant populations of thousands and even tens of thousands found in Greece and Turkey.”

“However, as we worked on studies summarizing the invasion of sea urchins in the Mediterranean, we began to receive reports on sudden extensive mortality. Supposedly the extinction of an invasive species is not a bad thing, but we must be aware of two major risks: First, we don’t yet know how this mortality and its causes might impact local species in the Mediterranean; and second, and much more critical, the geographic proximity between the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea might enable the pathogen to quickly cross over to the natural population in the Red Sea. As we feared and predicted, this is what appears to have happened.”

The mass mortality reminded the TAU researchers of one of the most famous and devastating events in the history of marine ecology: the disappearance of the sea urchins in the Caribbean. Until 1983 the Caribbean coral reef was a thriving tropical reef, quite similar to the coral reef in the Gulf of Eilat. Once the sea urchins disappeared, the algae multiplied without control, blocked the sunlight from reaching the corals, and the entire reef changed irreversibly – from a coral reef to an algae field.”

Deadly Precedent

“Last year the disease broke out again in the Caribbean, killing the surviving urchin populations and individuals,” lamented Dr. Bronstein. “Unlike past events, today we have the scientific and technological tools to analyze the forensic evidence. A group of researchers from Cornell University identified the cause of mortality in the Caribbean: a pathogenic ciliate parasite. The pathology observed in the sea urchins dying in Greece and Turkey is identical to the pathology in the Caribbean, and it’s also the pathology we see in the sea urchins dying here in the Red Sea.”

After predicting epidemic’s spread to the Red Sea, Dr. Bronstein warned that the sea urchin populations both in the eastern Mediterranean and the Red Seat are likely to be wiped out – with serious consequences for the future of the coral reefs.

“We must understand the seriousness of the situation: in the Red Sea, mortality is spreading at a stunning rate, and already encompasses a much larger area than we see in the Mediterranean. In the background there is still a great unknown:”

“What is actually killing the sea urchins? Is it the Caribbean pathogen or some new unfamiliar factor? Either way, this pathogen is clearly carried by water, and we predict that in just a short time, the entire population of these sea urchins, in both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, will get sick and die.

The only solution, Dr. Bronstein continued, is to preserve a small population of sea urchins which can be used to repopulate the ecosystems once the pandemic has passed.

“In my opinion we must urgently establish a broodstock population for these sea urchins, so that if needed, we will be able to return them to nature in the future.”

“The window of opportunity for preserving a healthy population of this species in Eilat has already closed. If we want to establish a broodstock population, we must do it today, by preserving healthy individuals from the Israeli Mediterranean – before the disease, spreading from the north, reaches this area. This is a complex task, but it is absolutely necessary if we wish to ensure the survival of this unique species that is so critical to the future of coral reefs.”

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Israel’s coral reefs at risk as rising water temperatures lead to massive die off of Mediterranean reefs.

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New method may curb reef devastation plaguing global coral ecosystems.

By World Israel News Staff

The world’s coral reefs are becoming extinct due to many factors such as global warming and accelerated urbanization in coastal areas, which places tremendous stress on marine life.

“The rapid decline of coral reefs has increased the need for exploring interdisciplinary methods for reef restoration,” explains Natalie Levy, a Ph.D. student at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

“Examining how to conserve the biodiversity of coral reefs is a key issue, but there is also an urgent need to invest in technology that can improve the coral ecosystem and our understanding of the reef environment.”

In a paper recently published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, researchers from four of Israel’s leading universities highlight a 3D printing method they developed to preserve coral reefs. Their innovation is based on the natural structure of coral reefs off the southern coastal Israeli city of Eilat, but their model is adaptable to other marine environments, and may help curb reef devastation plaguing coral ecosystems around the world.

The joint research was led by Prof. Oren Levy and Ph.D. student Natalie Levy from the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar-Ilan University; Prof. Ezri Tarazi and Ph.D. student Ofer Berman from the Technion’s Architecture and Town Planning Faculty; Prof. Tali Treibitz and Ph.D. student Matan Yuval from the University of Haifa, and Prof. Yossi Loya of Tel Aviv University.

The 3D process begins by scanning underwater photographs of coral reefs. From this visual information, a three-dimensional model of the reef is assembled with maximum accuracy. Thousands of images are photographed and sent to the laboratory to calculate the complex form of the reef and how that form encourages the evolution of reef species diversity.

Next, the researchers use a molecular method of collecting environmental genetic information, which provides accurate data on the reef’s organisms. This data is incorporated with other parameters and is fed into a 3D technology algorithm, making it possible to build a parametric interactive model of the reef.

The three-dimensional model can be designed to precisely fit the designated reef environment.

The final stage is the translation and production of a ceramic reef in 3D printing.

The reefs are made of a unique ceramic that is naturally porous underwater and provides the most ideal construction and restoration needs to the affected area, or for the establishment of a new reef structure as a foundation for the continuation of life.

“Three-dimensional printing with natural material facilitates the production of highly complex and diverse units that is not possible with the usual means of mold production,” says Prof. Ezri Tarazi.

The process combines 3D scanning algorithms, together with environmental DNA sampling, and a 3D printing algorithm that allows in-depth and accurate examination of the data from each reef as well as tailoring the printed model to a specific reef environment. In addition, data can be re-fed into the algorithm to check the level of effectiveness and efficiency of the design after it has been implemented, based on information collected in the process.

“Existing artificial reefs have difficulty replicating the complexity of coral habitats and hosting reef species that mirror natural environments. We introduce a novel customizable 3D interface for producing scalable structures, utilizing real data collected from coral ecosystems,” said Levy.

Berman adds, “The use of three-dimensional printing allows extensive freedom of action in reality algorithm-based solutions, and the assimilation of sustainable production for the development of large-scale marine rehabilitation.”

This study meets two critical needs to save coral reefs, according to the researchers. The first is the need for innovative solutions that facilitate large-scale restoration that can be adapted to support coral reefs worldwide.

The second is the recreation of the natural complexity of the coral reef — both in size and design — that will attract reef species such as corals, fish, and invertebrates that support the regrowth of natural coral reefs.

The researchers are currently installing several 3D printed reefs in the Gulf of Eilat. They believe that the results they obtain will help them apply this innovation to other reef ecosystems around the world.

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More oil tankers in Gulf of Eilat will raise threats to Israel’s coral reefs and fish.

By David Isaac, JNS

A deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, signed on Oct. 19, 2020, to transport Emirati crude through existing Israeli pipelines between the port of Eilat on the Red Sea to Ashkelon on the Mediterranean—initially hailed as the first major agreement following the Abraham Accords—is now in jeopardy, with the UAE reportedly sending out feelers for an alternative route.

The deal is between MED-RED Land Bridge Ltd., a private Dubai-based company, and Israel’s state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Co. (EAPC). According to the EAPC, the deal benefited the UAE by letting it deliver its oil more efficiently to Western markets and benefited Israel in ensuring its energy security.

On Oct. 21, almost a year to the day after the signing, a Globes article described how the UAE was considering finding a path through Egypt instead as the Israeli government becomes mired in internal disagreement over the deal’s pros and cons, casting doubt that it will allow the agreement to stand.

Israeli environmentalist groups have sued the government. Their main argument is that the pipeline deal would lead to a sharp rise in the number of oil tankers visiting the Gulf of Eilat, creating a serious threat to Israel’s coral reefs in the event of a spill.

Ironically, the new potential route would run from the Egyptian resort of Taba on the Red Sea, only a short distance from Israel’s pipeline installation, leaving Israel’s coral reefs just as exposed to a potential oil spill, only without any upside for Israel.

The EAPC voiced its frustration in a statement it shared with JNS: “Establishing an alternative in Taba, in Egyptian territory, about 100 meters from the EAPC, demonstrates the magnitude of the absurdity. Israel’s citizens and the State of Israel will not enjoy the enormous economic, geopolitical and security benefits of the agreement and will not be able to monitor the Egyptian facility in the Gulf of Eilat.”

(The EAPC similarly noted, in a July written response to the court, that more than 200 tankers a year visit the Port of Aqaba on the Jordanian side of the Gulf of Eilat, and that more than 2,150 have visited in the last decade, but green groups pay no attention to this.)

In May, Gila Gamliel of the Likud Party, the previous government’s Minister of Environmental Protection, allied herself with the opponents of the deal, saying it threatened the environment. Her successor, Tamar Zandberg of Meretz, has been still more strident in her opposition. Zandberg argued after assuming office that the deal held no benefits for Israel—“not even a liter of fuel passing through is intended for the Israeli economy, as far as I know.”

‘We cannot have a race to the bottom’

The government remains divided. “There is strong disagreement among government offices because the Ministry of Environment strongly opposes the MED-RED contract, but other ministries are not against it. Some say that they have no opinion. Some think that even though there are disadvantages regarding the contract, aborting it right now would harm Israel and its ability to make contracts with other countries” Asaf Ben Levy, legal adviser to the Society for the Preservation of Nature in Israel (SPNI), told JNS.

Ben Levy helped work on the lawsuit against the MED-RED deal and will present the case in court for SPNI. He said that the exact court date has not been set but will take place sometime in December.

Commenting on reports that the UAE is looking at Taba in Egypt, Ben Levy said there has also been discussion of a possible alternative route through Jordan. Ben Levy agrees that the damage from an oil spill to coral reefs from a point on the Gulf of Eilat belonging to either Jordan or Egypt would likely be the same as from Israel. However, he says that when it comes to protecting nature, Israel shouldn’t let what other countries do dictate its own actions.

“There is a problem saying other countries do it, and therefore, it’s OK for us to do it,” he said. “We cannot have a race to the bottom. We cannot look at other countries and say that if they don’t meet our standards, then we should lower ours as well. The opposite should be the case.”

Ben Levy also argued that transporting crude oil through Israel might be more serious for Israel in terms of potential environmental damage than it would be for Jordan or Egypt, referring to Israel in totality, including the land over which the pipeline travels and its egress point on the Mediterranean.

“Of course, every country has its own valuable environmental areas, but Israel is such an important one. It’s a hotspot which is recognized by the U.N., a natural hotspot, and the damage of an oil spill in Israel might be more harmful than in Egypt or Jordan,” he said.

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“Corals worldwide are dying and suffering at a rapid pace, but we have not witnessed a single bleaching event in the Gulf of Aqaba,” Bar-Ilan University researcher says.

By Alon Bernstein and Isabel Debre, Associated Press

As the outlook for coral reefs across a warming planet grows grimmer, scientists in Israel have discovered a rare glimmer of hope: The corals of the northern Red Sea may survive, and even thrive, into the next century.

The corals at the northernmost tip of the Red Sea are exhibiting remarkable resistance to the rising water temperatures and acidification, according to recent research conducted by the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences based in Eilat. Experts hope the lessons learned in the Red Sea can help coral reefs elsewhere in the world.

“Corals worldwide are dying and suffering at a rapid pace, but we have not witnessed a single bleaching event in the Gulf of Aqaba,” said Maoz Fine, an expert on coral reefs at Bar-Ilan University and director of the research.

Warmer water causes corals to eject the brightly colored plants that serve as their primary food and oxygen source. This causes reefs to “bleach,” or take on a bone-white pallor that often portends mass mortality.

While other hardy coral species can be found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, “there’s nowhere else in the world that reefs are this far away from their bleaching thresholds,” said Fine. Plenty of other refuges remain unknown, but “this is the only spot we know of with a warranty ensuring these reefs stay safe for the next several decades,” he said.

On a recent day at the lab, Fine examined coral fragments in water treated to simulate future global warming scenarios, pointing to their ruddy color as a sign of good health.

Coral refuge

The Gulf of Aqaba has become a refuge for tough corals that are projected to outlast far worse future conditions. Fine’s latest study, published this month in the Journal of Experimental Biology, found further cause for optimism: The coral species’ thermal resistance carries over to their offspring, indicating that future generations will also remain immune to bleaching, with implications that could extend beyond this spot of the Red Sea.

Fine’s research credits northern Red Sea coral resilience to a giant natural selection event that occurred some 18,000 years ago. As glaciers retreated at the end of the ice age, reefs moved in to recolonize the southern part of the sea, where temperatures ran exceedingly high.

Only corals that could bear the heat managed to reach maturity and migrate north, where they resettled in conditions several degrees cooler than their thermal threshold. Further research is underway to determine how existing in temperatures below their tolerance levels may lend corals physiological benefits.

“All corals were obliterated except for the best genotypes, the winners of the climate change lottery,” said Fine. Today, these hardy corals continue to survive as Red Sea waters warm, only showing signs of heat stress at six degrees above the summer maximum sea temperature.

Picking out winning genes

“Not only does this give us an incentive to protect this special refuge as much as possible, but also allows us to find hints as to the most important genes for thermal resistance,” he added.

Picking out winning genes can contribute to an urgent worldwide push to restore and repopulate dead reefs. Some cutting-edge labs in Hawaii and Australia have even started crossbreeding the corals that survived or recovered from the mass bleaching of their reefs to create gene banks of “super-corals” that they hope can survive future elevated temperatures.

“If corals are surviving and reproducing in the Gulf of Aqaba under stressful conditions, and in the central and southern Red Sea they’re not, we can reseed the hardy corals in nearby bleached areas,” said Jacqueline De La Cour, operations manager for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch, who was not a part of the study. “Entirely new ecosystems that can withstand climate change would be established.”

The U.S. agency has honed such restoration techniques in Florida, where reefs play a critical role in softening the blow of hurricanes.

Jessica Bellworthy, a doctoral student in Fine’s lab, said that while it’s too soon to tell whether Gulf of Aqaba corals would retain their resilience if multiplied and transplanted to other environments, it’s a “direction we could eventually take our data.”

Playing God?

Fine likened transplanting corals to “playing God,” saying that although such human intervention has become well-established, it carries ecological risks and raises ethical questions. For instance, should humans be introducing new species where there are natives?

But some scientists contend that only a hands-on response can address accelerating reef mortality rates. From 2014-2017, corals experienced the most widespread and damaging “bleaching event” in global history, said De La Cour.

Experts often compare reefs to rainforests when trying to convey their stunning diversity of life. “If you lose reefs, you lose everything that depends on them,” said Michael Webster, executive director of Coral Reef Alliance, a San Francisco conservation group.

Reef death not only carries dire consequences for wildlife, but also for the homes, health and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people: those who fish, work in tourism, dwell on islands made of coral or rely on reef protection from coastal erosion.

“The survivors in the Gulf of Aqaba are only going to become even more essential to us over the next 100 years,” said De La Cour. “Coral refuges show us that species can adapt. It gives us hope.”

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