Editing Artificial reef (section)

{{Short description|Human-made underwater structure that functions as a reef}}
[[File:Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Reef Balls, close.jpg|thumb|Reef balls are just one type of structure used in the construction of artificial reefs.]]
An '''artificial reef''' ('''AR''') is a human-created freshwater or marine [[benthic]] structure.<ref name="Seaman2013">{{cite book |last1=Seaman, Jr |first1=William |title=Artificial Habitats for Marine and Freshwater Fisheries |year=2013 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-08-057117-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-6XYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |language=en}}</ref>
Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote [[Marine biology#Reefs|marine life]], it may be intended to control [[#Erosion prevention|erosion]], protect coastal areas, block ship passage, block the use of [[trawling]] nets,<ref name="Gray">{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Denis D. |title=Cambodia volunteers step up battle against illegal fishing |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/Cambodia-volunteers-step-up-battle-against-illegal-fishing |access-date=16 June 2023 |work=Nikkei Asia |date=June 2, 2018}}</ref> support reef restoration, improve [[aquaculture]], or enhance [[scuba diving]] and [[surfing]].<ref name="Airoldi"/> Early artificial reefs were built by the Persians and the Romans.

An opportunity artificial reef is built from objects that were intended for other purposes,<ref name="Carral">{{cite journal |last1=Carral |first1=Luis |last2=Camba Fabal |first2=Carolina |last3=Lamas Galdo |first3=Mª Isabel |last4=Rodríguez-Guerreiro |first4=Mª Jesús |last5=Cartelle Barros |first5=Juan José |title=Assessment of the Materials Employed in Green Artificial Reefs for the Galician Estuaries in Terms of Circular Economy |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |date=28 November 2020 |volume=17 |issue=23 |pages=8850 |doi=10.3390/ijerph17238850 |pmid=33260753 |pmc=7730678 |doi-access=free }}</ref> such as sinking oil rigs (through the [[Rigs-to-Reefs]] program), [[Sinking ships for wreck diving sites|scuttling ships]], or by deploying [[rubble]] or [[construction debris]]. Shipwrecks may become artificial reefs when preserved on the seafloor. A conventional artificial reef uses materials such as concrete, which can be molded into specialized forms (e.g. [[The Reef Ball Foundation|reef balls]]). Green artificial reefs incorporate renewable and organic materials such as vegetable fibres and seashells to improve sustainability and reduce energy consumption, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.<ref name="Carral"/> In some cases, artificial reefs have been developed as artworks.

Artificial reefs generally provide hard surfaces where [[algae]] and invertebrates such as [[barnacle]]s, [[coral]]s, and [[oyster]]s attach and spaces where different sizes of fishes can hide. The accumulation of attached marine life in turn provides intricate structures and food for [[biocenose|assemblages]] of fish.<ref name="Seaman2013"/><ref name="Bakx">{{cite news |last1=Bakx |first1=Kyle |title=Concrete solutions Fishermen are sinking boats and dumping concrete in the Gulf of Mexico – to save the fish |url=https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/artificial-reef-RGV-carbon-study |work=CBC News |date=May 28, 2023}}</ref> The ecological impact of an artificial reef depends on multiple factors including where it is situated, how it is constructed, and the ages and types of species involved.<ref name="Bracho-Villavicencio"/><ref name="Komyakova">{{cite journal |last1=Komyakova |first1=Valeriya |last2=Chamberlain |first2=Dean |last3=Swearer |first3=Stephen E. |title=A multi-species assessment of artificial reefs as ecological traps |journal=Ecological Engineering |date=1 November 2021 |volume=171 |pages=106394 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106394 |bibcode=2021EcEng.17106394K |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925857421002494 |language=en |issn=0925-8574|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Macura">{{cite journal |last1=Macura |first1=Biljana |last2=Byström |first2=Pär |last3=Airoldi |first3=Laura |last4=Eriksson |first4=Britas Klemens |last5=Rudstam |first5=Lars |last6=Støttrup |first6=Josianne G. |title=Impact of structural habitat modifications in coastal temperate systems on fish recruitment: a systematic review |journal=Environmental Evidence |date=12 March 2019 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=14 |doi=10.1186/s13750-019-0157-3 |bibcode=2019EnvEv...8...14M |s2cid=84831487 |issn=2047-2382|doi-access=free |hdl=11577/3401331 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> While the artificial reefs allow for coral growth, it changes the ecosystem as the relative growth for different species is not always the same. Studies have found that macroalgal, cyanobacterial groups, and coral that are fast growing, grow in artificial reefs at different rates than they would grow in natural reefs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=M. W. |last2=Valdivia |first2=A. |last3=Kramer |first3=K. L. |last4=Mason |first4=B. |last5=Williams |first5=D. E. |last6=Johnston |first6=L. |date=2009-07-28 |title=Alternate benthic assemblages on reef restoration structures and cascading effects on coral settlement |url=https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v387/p147-156/ |journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series |language=en |volume=387 |pages=147–156 |doi=10.3354/meps08097 |bibcode=2009MEPS..387..147M |issn=0171-8630}}</ref>

Considerable research is being done into construction methods and the effects of artificial reefs.<ref name="Airoldi"/><ref name="Macura"/><ref name="Lima"/> Many of the materials used early on are now considered undesirable.<ref name=" Bracho-Villavicencio"/> A 2001 literature review suggested that about half of the reefs studied met their objectives.<ref name="Baine"/> Long-term planning and ongoing management were identified as essential factors in success.<ref name="Baine">{{cite journal |last1=Baine |first1=Mark |title=Artificial reefs: a review of their design, application, management and performance |journal=Ocean & Coastal Management |date=January 2001 |volume=44 |issue=3–4 |pages=241–259 |doi=10.1016/S0964-5691(01)00048-5|bibcode=2001OCM....44..241B }}</ref><ref name="Brochier">{{cite journal |last1=Brochier |first1=Timothée |last2=Brehmer |first2=Patrice |last3=Mbaye |first3=Adama |last4=Diop |first4=Mamadou |last5=Watanuki |first5=Naohiko |last6=Terashima |first6=Hiroaki |last7=Kaplan |first7=David |last8=Auger |first8=Pierre |title=Successful artificial reefs depend on getting the context right due to complex socio-bio-economic interactions |journal=Scientific Reports |date=17 August 2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=16698 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-95454-0 |pmid=34404822 |pmc=8371003 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1116698B |language=en |issn=2045-2322}}</ref><ref name="Lima">{{cite journal |last1=Lima |first1=Juliano Silva |last2=Zalmon |first2=Ilana Rosental |last3=Love |first3=Milton |title=Overview and trends of ecological and socioeconomic research on artificial reefs |journal=Marine Environmental Research |date=1 March 2019 |volume=145 |pages=81–96 |doi=10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.01.010 |pmid=30837123 |bibcode=2019MarER.145...81L |s2cid=73481444 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141113618307888 |language=en |issn=0141-1136|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
A more recent analysis of reefs world wide between 1990 and 2020 concludes that artificial reefs can be useful tools for restoring marine ecosystems if they are strategically designed to suit their specific location and its resource needs.<ref name=" Bracho-Villavicencio"/>

{{toclimit|3}}