biology

Reef Ball Foundation

Reef Ball Foundation is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Reef Ball Foundation rather than just read about it. In short: Reef Ball Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that functions as an international environmental non-governmental organization. The foundation uses reef ball artificial reef technology, combined with coral propagation, transplant technology, public education, and community training to build, restore and protect coral reefs.

Key takeaways

Reef Ball Foundation belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Reef Ball Foundation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Reef Ball Foundation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Reef Ball Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that functions as an international environmental non-governmental organization. The foundation uses reef ball artificial reef technology, combined with coral propagation, transplant technology, public education, and community training to build, restore and protect coral reefs. The foundation has established "reef ball reefs" in 59 countries. Over 550,000 reef balls have been deployed in more than 4,000 projects.

History Reef Ball Development Group was founded in 1993 by Todd Barber, with the goal of helping to preserve and protect coral reefs for the benefit of future generations. Barber witnessed his favorite coral reef on Grand Cayman destroyed by Hurricane Gilbert, and wanted to do something to help increase the resiliency of eroding coral reefs. Barber and his father patented the idea of building reef substrate modules with a central inflatable bladder, so that the modules would be buoyant, making them easy to deploy by hand or with a small boat, rather than requiring heavy machinery. Over the next few years, with the help of research colleagues at University of Georgia, Nationwide Artificial Reef Coordinators and the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), Barber, his colleagues, and business partners worked to perfect the design. In 1997, Kathy Kirbo established The Reef Ball Foundation, Inc as a non-profit organization with original founders being Todd Barber as chairman and charter member, Kathy Kirbo founding executive director, board secretary, and charter member, Larry Beggs as vice president and a charter member and Eric Krasle as treasurer and a charter member, Jay Jorgensen as a charter member. Reef balls can be found in almost every coastal state in the United States, and on every continent including Antarctica. The foundation has expanded the scope of its projects to include coral rescue, propagation and transplant operations, beach restorations, mangrove restorations and nursery development. Reef Ball also participates in education and outreach regarding environmental stewardship and coral reefs. In 2001, Reef Ball Foundation took control of the Reef Ball Development Group, and operates all aspects of the business as a non-profit organization. By 2007, the foundation has deployed 550,000 reef balls worldwide. In 2019, Reef Ball Foundation deployed 1,400 reef balls in the shores of Progreso, Yucatán in Mexico. Artificial reefs were also built in Quintana Roo, Baja California, Colima, Veracruz, and Campache. Almost 25,000 reef balls have been established in the surrounding seas of Mexico.

Technology and research

The Reef Ball Foundation manufactures reef balls for open ocean deployment in sizes from 0.3 to 2.5 metres (1 to 8 ft) in diameter and 15 to 3,500 kilograms (30 to 8,000 lb) in weight. Reef balls are hollow, and typically have several convex-concave holes of varying sizes to most closely approximate natural coral reef conditions by creating whirlpools. Reef balls are made from pH-balanced microsilica concrete, and are treated to create a rough surface texture, in order to promote settling by marine organisms such as corals, algae, coralline algae and sponges. Over the last decade, research has been conducted with respect to the ability of artificial reefs to produce or attract biomass, the effectiveness of reef balls in replicating natural habitat, and mitigating disasters. The use of reef balls as breakwaters and for beach stabilization has been extensively studied.

Projects The foundation undertakes an array of projects including artificial reef deployment, estuary restoration, mangrove plantings, oyster reef creation, coral propagation, natural disaster recovery, erosion control, and education. Notable projects include:

In Antigua, undertaking 4,700 modules were deployed around the island. In Malaysia, 5,000 reef balls were deployed around protected sea turtle nesting islands to deter netting, successfully increasing nesting numbers. In Campeche, Mexico, over 4,000 reef balls deployed by local fishing communities to enhance fishery resources. In Tampa Bay, US, reef balls were installed beneath docks, in front of sea walls, and as a submerged breakwater to create oyster reefs. In Phuket, Thailand, reef balls were planted with corals after the Boxing Day Tsunami to help restore tourism. In Indonesia, locals and P.T. Newmont used reef balls to mitigate damage from mining operations and restore thousands of coral heads. In Australia, reef balls have been used to enhance fisheries in New South Wales.

Designed artificial reefs

The trend in artificial reef development has been toward the construction of designed artificial reefs, built from materials specifically designed to function as reefs. Designed systems (such as reef balls) can be modified to achieve a variety of goals. These include coral reef rehabilitation, fishery enhancement, snorkeling and diving trails, beach erosion protection, surfing enhancement, fish spawning sites, planters for mangrove replanting, enhancement of lobster fisheries, creation of oyster reefs, estuary rehabilitation, and even exotic uses such as deep water Oculina coral replanting. Designed systems can overcome many of the problems associated with "materials of opportunity" such as stability in storms, durability, biological fit, lack of potential pollution problems, availability, and reduction in long-term artificial reef costs. Designed reefs have been developed specifically for coral reef rehabilitation, and can therefore be used in a more specific niche than materials of opportunity. Some examples of specialized adaptations which "designed reefs" can use include: specialized surface textures, coral planting attachment points, specialized pH-neutral surfaces (such as neutralized concrete, ceramics, or mineral accretion surfaces), fissures to create currents for corals, and avoidance of materials such as iron (which may cause algae to overgrow coral). Other types of designed systems can create aquaculture opportunities for lobsters, create oyster beds, or be used for a large variety of other specialized needs.

See also Underwater sculptures Project AWARE Reef Check

References

External links Reef Ball Foundation

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Reef Ball Foundation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Reef Ball Foundation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Reef Ball Foundation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Reef Ball Foundation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Reef Ball Foundation

In research: Reef Ball Foundation appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Reef Ball Foundation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Reef Ball Foundation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 501(c)(3) organizations, Athens, Georgia, Coral reef organizations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Reef Ball Foundation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Reef Ball Foundation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Reef Ball Foundation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Reef Ball Foundation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Reef Ball Foundation in simple terms?

Why does Reef Ball Foundation matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Reef Ball Foundation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Reef Ball Foundation.