Experiments on Settlement of Coral Polyps and Coral Growth Promotion Using a Feeble Electrochemical Method

Abstract

This study aims to investigate experimentally the effects of an electrochemical method on growth promotion and settlement of corals. Naturally growing colonies of the pier in Taketomi Higashi port showed significant increase in density of corals corresponding with electricity of the cathodic protection. To know the reason of these effects on settlement and growth promotion, field experiments and laboratory experiments were carried out. As a result, the settlement rate of electrochemically deposited bases was 5 times larger than that of ceramic bases. The growth rate of the treated nubbins was relatively high in the field and its effect depended on species. The laboratory experiment results indicated that positive effects on the growth of corals by the feeble electric current densities in the range from 50mA/m² to 100mA/m².