The health benefits associated with a daily dose of multivitamins and minerals like manganese, zinc, and iron make a list as long as your arm; from metabolism and bone health to immune system-boosting and wound healing. And now, scientists are adding coral reef resilience to the roll call, too.

Preliminary tests carried out by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) indicate that – just as in humans – micronutrients from these essential minerals have an important role to play in boosting the resilience and health of our ocean’s most critical ecosystems.

But good luck to you if think you’ll be getting a coral polyp to take its morning multivitamins tablet anytime soon. Rather, scientists at WHOI have been lab testing their hypothesis using nutrient-infused tiles to determine whether they would boost the immune system of corals, helping them withstand stressors like warming ocean temperatures (which leads to coral bleaching), and boost recovery levels from extreme climate events, such as hurricanes.

“We are studying how corals react when grown on substrates that have been infused with essential metal micronutrients like manganese, zinc, and iron,” said Colleen Hansel, a senior scientist and marine chemist at WHOI. 

“The rapidly warming waters coupled with an active hurricane season has made it difficult to conduct field trials of our substrates. But preliminary data collected during more than a year of lab experiments shows that corals that had the early benefit of multivitamins were more resistant and resilient to heat stress.”

The next phase of the project will be to take these micronutrient tiles out into the open water where the team plans to embed them in the concrete structure of a 20-square-metre artificial reef, designed by experts at the University of the Virgin Islands. This structure will provide a solid foundation to plant juvenile corals and for coral larvae to settle on while the tiles disperse their essential nutrients and vitamins into the surrounding waters. 

It’s hoped that – just as has shown in the lab environment – the corals will absorb these nutrients, amplifying their resilience toward environmental stressors.

“The artificial reef we’re building is going next to a natural reef that has been severely impacted by marine heat waves and extreme storm events,” said Marilyn Brandt, a coral disease ecologist at the University of the Virgin Islands. “The artificial reef will protect the shoreline from storm surge and erosion while providing habitat for corals struggling from climate change, as we work toward restoring natural reefs in the area.”

Further testing in the field is required to ensure that additional nutrients within the marine environment don’t simply cater to one specific type of coral or promote the growth of undesired or invasive species. Brandt, Hansel, and their colleagues working on the project hope that by utilising these nutrient tiles alongside an artificial reef structure, a diverse environment will be created for reefs and species that rely on them.

“It’s important to create an ecologically sound, diverse coral reef,” said Hansel. “We need to be sure an artificial reef looks and sounds as similar to a natural reef as possible. That doesn’t consist of just coral but also sponges, anemones, and other biogeochemical components of the reef ecosystem. These interactions and feedback are necessary to make the whole habitat healthy.”

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