Impact Below Water - Mars Coral

Impact Below Water

Working with local communities around the world, we have rebuilt 112,000 square metres of reef in the most biodiverse seas on the planet.

Before and after

At its most effective, the MARRS method can transform heavily degraded rubble fields into healthy coral-dominated ecosystems within a few years. Drag the slider below to see this for yourself, comparing illustrative examples of a degraded rubble field and a nearby restored reef, 3 years after Reef Star installation.

Degraded rubble field,

<5% live coral cover

3 years post-restoration,

>60% live coral cover

Use the slider to see the difference yourself.

Mars, and partners, Impact in numbers

112000

square metres of restored reef

1300000

corals planted

90187

Reef Stars installed

40

Reef Star sites in 11 countries

12X

increase in coral cover

3X

increase in fish populations

2X

increase in fish biomass

decorative coral pattern

Reef Stars one year after installation

Reef Stars two years after installation

Published reports

We have a detailed monitoring program that regularly measures the progress of our restoration projects. Some of the outputs of this monitoring are detailed at these links to books and peer-reviewed journal articles. Explore more of our outputs on the resources page.

Strudwick et al (2024)

Assessing how metal reef restoration structures shape the functional and taxonomic profile of coral-associated bacterial communities

Lendo et al (2024)

Carbonate budgets induced by coral restoration of a Great Barrier Reef site following cyclone damage

Suggett et al (2024)

Restoration as a meaningful aid to ecological recovery of coral reefs

Lange et al (2024)

Coral restoration can drive rapid reef carbonate budget recovery

Strudwick et al (2023)

Impacts of plastic-free materials on coral-associated bacterial communities during reef restoration

Lamont et al (2022)

HydroMoth: Testing a prototype low-cost acoustic recorder for aquatic environments

McArdle et al (2022)

Mars and Coral Reef Restoration: Learnings from 15+ years of trial and error

Lamont et al (2022)

Multi-dimensional approaches to scaling up coral reef restoration

Williams et al (2022)

Enhancing automated analysis of marine soundscapes using ecoacoustics indices and machine learning

Vaughan (2021)

Active coral restoration: techniques for a changing planet.

Lamont et al (2021)

The sound of recovery: coral reef restoration success is detectable in the soundscape

Saunders et al (2020)

Bright spots in coastal marine ecosystem restoration

Seraphim et al (2020)

Interactions between coral restoration and fish assemblages: implications for reef management. Journal of Fish Biology 97: 633-655.

Williams et al (2019)

Large-scale coral reef rehabilitation after blast fishing in Indonesia, Restoration Ecology 27: 447-456.

International Coral Reef Initiative

A summary of our restoration approach and progress on the ICRI website

Nature Portfolio

A discussion of our collaborative approach published by the Nature Portfolio

decorative coral pattern

Next section

Impact Above Water

When we install Reef Stars, we don't just regrow coral. We invest in local community-led development programs.