Juvenile lobsters have been released onto 3D-printed artificial reefs by Bournemouth University researchers, to discover whether this type of conservation tool will support them and can be used to improve underwater ecosystems in the future.
Little is known about the preferred habitats of juvenile lobsters. To change that, a team of researchers from the marine conservation department at Bournemouth University, led by Professor Rick Stafford and Dr Alice Hall, have returned to artificial reef units they deployed two years ago to release juvenile lobsters in collaboration with the Holderness Fishing Industry Group (HFIG). They hope that their new research study will provide more information on juvenile lobsters to aid their conservation in the future.
The 3D printed artificial reef blocks are part of an Interreg Atlantic-funded international research project called 3DPARE (3D Printing Artificial Reefs in the Atlantic) that is testing which concrete types, reef shapes, and specific features like overhangs and holes are most attractive to marine animals.
Throughout the past few years, Bournemouth University has been surveying the reef units using various techniques such as SCUBA surveys, drop-down remote underwater video, and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys. After only four months the team noticed that structures were starting to be colonised by marine life and, after eighteen months that had increased to 102 species.
The team recorded seaweeds, keel worms, sea squirts, hydroids, bryozoans, barnacles and sponges and mobile fauna including edible crab, pollack, wrasse, gobies and mullet. Dr Alice Hall, visiting fellow and researcher on the project explained: “The 3DPARE reef units have been designed to provide suitable habitat for a variety of marine life. The colonisation of the reef has exceeded all our expectations – every dive I discover a new species using them.”
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