Biology subjects

McIlroy, S.

Publications and source records attributed to McIlroy, S..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Assessing the Effectiveness of 3D-Printed Ceramic Structures for Coral Restoration: Growth, Survivorship, and Biodiversity Using Visual Surveys and eDNA

Coral reef degradation has spurred the development of artificial structures to mitigate losses in coral cover. These structures serve as substrates for coral transplantation, with the expectation that growing corals will attract reef-associated taxa -- while the substrates ability to directly support biodiversity is often neglected. We evaluated a novel 3D-printed modular tile made of porous terra cotta, designed with complex surface structures to enhance micro- and cryptic biodiversity, through a restoration project in Hong Kong. Over four years, we monitored 378 outplanted coral fragments using diver assessments and photography, while biodiversity changes were assessed through visual surveys and eDNA metabarcoding. Coral survivorship was high, with 88% of transplants surviving by the studys end. The restoration site exhibited greater fish and macroinvertebrate abundance compared to a nearby unrestored area. eDNA analyses revealed 23.5% higher eukaryote ASV richness at the restoration site than the unrestored site and a 13.3% increase relative to a natural reference coral community. This study highlights the tiles dual functionality: (1) supporting coral growth and (2) enhancing cryptic biodiversity, an aspect often neglected in traditional reef restoration efforts. Our findings underscore the potential of 3D-printed ceramic structures to improve both coral restoration outcomes and broader reef ecosystem recovery.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

The reef-building coral Galaxea fascicularis: a new model system for coral symbiosis

Reef-building corals owe their evolutionary success to their symbiosis with unicellular algae (Symbiodiniaceae). However, increasingly frequent heat waves lead to coral mass-bleaching events and pose a serious threat to the survival of reef ecosystems. Despite significant efforts, a mechanistic understanding of coral-algal symbiosis functioning, what leads to its breakdown and what can prevent it, remains incomplete. The main obstacles are low amenability of corals to experimental handling and, owing to its obligatory nature, the difficulties of manipulating the coral-algal association. Indeed, many studies on the symbiotic partnership are conducted on other cnidarian model organisms and their results may therefore not be fully transferable to tropical reef-building corals. Here, we identify the tropical stony coral species Galaxea fascicularis as a novel candidate coral model system. Individual polyps of this species can be separated, enabling highly replicated genotype studies, and are well suited to experimental investigation of the symbiosis as they can be easily and effectively rid of their algal symbionts (bleached). We show that bleached adult individuals can reestablish symbiosis with non-native symbionts, and we report the completion of the gametogenic cycle ex-situ, with the successful spawning in aquaria over multiple years. These achievements help overcome several of the major limitations to direct research on corals and highlight the potential of G. fascicularis as an important new model system for investigations of symbiosis functioning and manipulation.

systems biology↗