Coral Restoration Breakthroughs in Riviera Maya

Biologist Ariadna León is leading an initiative to restore and reproduce corals from a small laboratory in the Riviera Maya. The restoration of reefs is a challenging task, but thanks to a variety of strategies and significant progress, the team is making strides in preserving these crucial ecosystems.

León, who heads the reef restoration program for Mexico at Iberostar, initiated this project in 2019. It began with two coral nurseries, one at the Playa Paraíso hotel in the Riviera Maya, and another on the island of Cozumel. A third nursery was added to Paraíso in 2023.

The initial goal of the project was to adapt corals to climate change. The first phase involved conducting heat tolerance experiments. Specialists selected healthy coral colonies from the reef, heated them to temperatures that typically cause bleaching, and then assessed their photosynthetic efficiency.

"We work with hard corals," León explains. Unlike soft corals, which are more susceptible to wave movements, hard corals are resilient and provide coastal protection. While the lab is not currently an aquarium or a biobank, there are aspirations to become one. However, the primary focus remains on restoration, as these species are endangered.

In 2023, a mass bleaching event occurred. Despite significant mortality among the transplants, the event provided an opportunity to map all the colonies that had survived. From this, a unique bleaching protocol was developed.

"We began working with the surviving colonies, continuing the process of microfragmentation," says León. The team has begun to incorporate tools designed in the Dominican Republic that allow corals to grow and reproduce more quickly. These corals can grow two to three centimeters in a year.

León emphasizes the importance of continuing to combat the disease and preserve the surviving colonies, such as those in Banco Chinchorro. She notes that the loss of these species disrupts ecosystem functions, as all species are interconnected. For instance, lobsters, which are predators of snails, help control the population of this coral predator. Without lobsters, the snail population can grow unchecked, posing a threat to the corals.