Mesocosms like the Biosphere 2 provide an opportunity to bridge the gap between observational and experimental studies to test novel solutions at reef scales. Given their potential impact on reef management and restoration, such experiments must be thoughtfully designed, validated, and monitored to address potential limitations and increase the applicability of the findings to natural reefs. This workshop will bring together international reef scientists interested in leveraging the Biosphere 2 and similar facilities to discuss lessons learned and identify the opportunities and challenges for the next generation of mesocosm experiments to test radical reef solutions.

This workshop is targeted those interested in the direct incorporation of reef restoration, coral interventions, and active coral maintenance into the day-to-day management of a new and diverse coral reef marine protected area. The case study will be the activation and designation of the new NEOM Nature Marine Reserve; a marine protected area covering 3836 square kilometers and encompassing over 20 different types of coral reefs. In recognition that in today’s world climate change and secondary effects associated with human’s response to climate change must be built into both the design and operation of a large-scale coral reef ecosystem marine protected area, NEOM Nature set-out to create a dynamic and innovative Coral Action Plan incorporating restoration, active reef maintenance (i.e. using restoration techniques to maintain and enhance reef structures, usually for targeted human use to redirect such use away from more sensitive areas) and coral interventions targeting minimizing effects of thermal events on coral reefs. The interactive workshop will present key portions of the plan, the developed tools and provide opportunities for participants to actively engage and discuss the plan for participant review and comment.

Biorepositories can help secure the biodiversity and genetic diversity of coral reefs. Over the summer of 2024, the Coral Biobank Alliance (CBA) asked the wider international coral conservation community to consider biobanking as it might be applied to current and future coral ecosystem conservation and scholarly works. Through a SWOT analysis of that proposition and with the engagement of a diverse group of international subject matter experts, the Coral Biobank Alliance has created a network vision, mission, and set of draft objectives to build the scope and scale of coral biorepository applications. In this workshop, the CBA invites the guidance and partnership of the larger community to help prioritize and direct its actions in support of coral biorepositories globally.

The Iberostar Wave of Change team in the Dominican Republic instituted a novel ex-situ Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) treatment that has demonstrated 94% success at treating coral colonies showing SCTLD-like lesions (n=34 with Dendrogyra cylindrus, Montastraea cavernosa, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Orbicella faveolata, O. annularis, and O. franksi). This treatment has shown to function as a valuable tool to preserve genetic diversity while also helping to keep SCTLD out of land-based restoration facilities. This workshop will thoroughly demonstrate the methods to professionally implement this protocol without the use of live corals, providing attendees with the knowledge needed to incorporate this protocol into their coral restoration and preservation activities. This workshop will also include a demonstration on how to implement in-situ SCTLD treatment methods.

During this two-part workshop we will bring industry leaders in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computational science and technologies together with coral reef restoration practitioners to identify key areas that could be advanced within the field. Topics of discussion during part 1 will include but not limited to the currently available AI/ML tools, data security, accessibility, and storage, limitations of the tools available, identification of key areas of development across all areas of restoration. Each topic area or idea discussed will be documented and collectively ranked for priority and technology readiness level (TRL). In part 2 (invited guests), a road map and subsequent review paper for how computer science and technology will aid in more efficient scaling of the field will be developed.

The 2023 mass bleaching event and widespread mortality of acroporid corals underscores the need to employ data-driven approaches to increase restoration efficiency, success, and scale. This workshop will highlight the Acropora cervicornis Data Coordination Hub (AcDC), a web-accessible tool that facilitates the comparison of coral genotype performance data regardless of format, including important phenotypes such as growth rate, bleaching tolerance, and disease resistance. This workshop is aimed to accommodate ~75 individuals including restoration practitioners, managers, and scientists to familiarize themselves with AcDC and give feedback for future iterations to continue to meet the needs of the community. Join us as we demonstrate the platform’s new features for evaluating genet performance, guide you on how to submit data, and discuss expanding the tool to include more species across a larger geographic region.