Année de publication
2023

Journal

Restoration Ecology
Date de publication
Dec-07-2024
Nombre de pages
e13978
DOI
10.1111/rec.13978
URL
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rec.13978
Numéro ISSN
1061-2971
Catégorie HCERES
ACL - Articles dans des revues internationales ou nationales avec comité de lecture répertoriées par l'HCERES ou dans les bases de données internationales
Résumé

Artificial reefs (ARs) are designed to mimic natural habitats and promote marine life. Their effectiveness is however debatable and can depend on factors such as structural complexity and construction material. Old artificial reefs (OARs) were made of concrete mold of simple geometric shapes, limiting their ability to mimic the complexity of natural reefs. Recent advancements in three-dimentional (3D)-printing technology have enabled the creation of 3D-printed artificial reefs (3DRs) with biocompatible material and complex structures that can better simulate the natural habitats. We employed underwater hyperspectral technology to estimate the performance of these reefs and compare the benthic photosynthetic signal of natural reefs (NATs) with those of ARs (OARs and 3DRs) in coastal area of the north-western Mediterranean (France and Monaco Principality). We expected differences in reflectance signals between OARs and NATs, and signals closer to NATs in 3DRs than OARs. Underwater hyperspectral technology was able to detect higher chlorophyll-a derived signals on NATs than OARs. Moreover, the magnitude of differences between 3DRs and NATs was smaller than that between OARs and NATs. Although ARs were not capable of mimicking natural reefs, the use of 3D-printed ARs might ameliorate their effectiveness for coastal reconciliation.