Frontiers in Marine Science (May 2022)
Coral Reef Electrotherapy: Field Observations
Abstract
Coral reefs are the fastest collapsing ecosystems from accelerating global warming, sea level, disease, and pollution. Urgent steps are essential to regenerate them, and their biodiversity and environmental services, if there is to be a sustainable “Blue Economy”. Methods that greatly increase settlement, growth, survival and resistance to extremely high temperature and pollutant stress are critically needed to regenerate coral reef and coastal ecosystems now and in the future. Safe Extremely Low Voltage (SELV) electrical fields generated by the Biorock electrolytic reef process have been documented for more than 35 years to greatly increase settlement, growth, healing, and survival of marine organisms in general under extreme stress conditions. The visibly observable benefits of electrical stress relief on marine organisms are summarized, and testable hypotheses are proposed to determine mechanisms and improve applications. Although these field observations strongly imply that electricity in the proper range improves stress resistance and health, the mechanisms have never been studied at cellular, biophysical, biochemical, molecular, or genetic levels. Electrical stimulation is the only method known to reverse the impacts of extreme stresses on corals and other marine organisms. Widespread regeneration of coral reef ecosystems by electrotherapy is urgently needed before they become functionally extinct.
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