FW: International Coral Reef Symposium and other stuff

[Precht, Bill]

Coral-Listers: (esp. Juan Torres)

With regards to questions concerning epoxies and coral attachment - the
following should be of interest

We here at PBS&J have been working on various coral restoration,
rehabilitation, and transplantation projects... in these efforts some
striking data has emerged (and will be published in a peer-reviewed forum in
the near future).

In general, we have had high failure rates attaching corals with almost ALL
the underwater epoxies including liquid rock, etc... However, we have had
tremendous success using Portland Cement... In fact, we have an experimental
garden where 50 fist-size corals were attached using epoxy and another 50
were attached using cement... One year after transplantation (and the
passage of a few significant storms)- 48 of the cemented ones remained while
only 12 of the epoxied ones were still present. Enough said...

Because of the high efficacy rates of the cement, we use this material
almost exclusively now...

We pre-mix the cement on the surface and bring it down to the restoration
site in pails. While soft, it is easy to mold and form, yet sets relatively
fast.  

Hope this helps

cheers,

Bill


> William F. Precht, P.G.
> Ecological Sciences Program Manager
> 
>  <<...>> 
> 
> bprecht at pbsj.com
> 
> 
> 
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