There's new hope for the planet's most threatened marine ecosystems. A team of researchers has created a revolutionary device that could slow the decline of coral reefs. It is called UZELA, and it is a programmable underwater light which increases coral nutrition up to 50 times, making them more resistant to environmental threats. What is it? Let's take a look together, calmly.
How UZELA Technology Works for Marine Ecosystems
The device, whose full name is the Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array, is an autonomous and programmable underwater light designed to attract zooplankton, tiny organisms that constitute the main nourishment of corals.
Its most interesting feature? It's autonomy: It can work for six months on a single battery, requiring only one hour of activation after sunset to optimize coral feeding.
Field test results
The researchers tested the device for six months on two native Hawaiian coral species. The results were surprising: UZELA was shown to significantly increase local zooplankton density and increase feeding rates of both healthy and bleached corals.
How do you explain Andrea Grottoli, lead author of the study and professor of earth sciences at theOhio State University:
Marine ecosystems of coral reefs They are home to a third of all marine species, despite occupying less than 1% of the ocean. They are the absolute protagonists of the health of the oceans and we risk losing them.
Impact on the marine environment
A crucial aspect of the research, published in the journal Limnology and Oceanography: Methods (I link it to you here), concerns the environmental impact of the device. Although artificial lights can disturb the behavior of other marine animals, the study highlights that the concentration of zooplankton does not damage the environment or interrupt the flow of these organisms in the surrounding areas. In fact, the system does not subtract resources but redistributes them more effectively.
The importance for the conservation of marine ecosystems
The stakes are high. Millions of people depend on coral reefs, which support fishing industries and protect coastal communities from erosion and flooding. Current climate models predict that at the current rate of global warming, these vital marine ecosystems could be completely devastated by 2050.
Currently, UZELA devices are hand-made, but the team is working with an Ohio engineering firm to redesign the technology to make it more suitable for industrial production. Grottos predicts that more advanced versions will be available in the next one to three years.
We are not mitigating climate change fast enough to save corals, and even UZELA will not instantly save coral reefs. But it is an exciting solution that will buy us time while we work towards a more sustainable environment.
concluded the researcher. Although this technology represents only a temporary solution to the environmental threats that corals face, it could prove essential to marine ecosystem conservation efforts in the coming decades. Come on, UZELA.
