A study led by Dr. Melissa Ruszczyk, assistant professor of biology at Keuka College, identified a promising new approach to restoring one of planet Earth's most threatened ecosystems: coral reefs.
Using custom flumes to simulate ocean flow, Dr. Ruszczyk and her interdisciplinary team at the University of Miami tested a novel formulation for cement tiles that raised the pH of the surrounding seawater and boosted baby coral survival rates by up to 400%.
These findings, which emerged from a broader project dubbed X-REEFS, were published in a Nature Portfolio journal article, with Dr. Ruszczyk as first author.
“When we went into this, we didn’t expect the chemistry of the water to impact survivorship,” Dr. Ruszczyk said. “We thought it would affect growth, but arguably, survivorship is even more important for reef restoration.”
Dr. Melissa Ruszczyk demonstrates her custom flume setup for a group of undergraduate students working on a coral experiment.
If deployed in the wild, these tiles could help locally counteract ocean acidification and promote the flourishing of species like the mountainous star coral, which has declined by over 50% in recent decades.
That, in turn, could help revitalize the extraordinary diversity of life sustained by coral reefs – known as the “rainforests of the sea” – and support the coastal communities that depend on them for fishing, tourism, and protection from storm surges.
“As a new faculty member at Keuka College, I’m hoping to bring and encourage creative problem-solving, both inside and outside the classroom.”
Dr. Ruszczyk said this project shows what’s possible when researchers collaborate across fields and institutions to tackle a shared challenge.
“I was able to branch out from my ecological biomechanics niche and work on an initiative spanning physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering – and that wouldn’t have been possible without a team of researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates who were all eager to learn new things,” she said.
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