Mars Coral Reef
Restoration

Sheba-supported Indonesian postgraduate students Maserati (Padjadjaran University) and Jane Cita (IPB University) have been carrying out ecological research on the Mars coral restoration programme as part of their Masters degrees. They recently gained invaluable experience by attending two prestigious international conferences: the Reef Conservation UK (RCUK) Annual Meeting in London on 29^th November 2024, and the British Ecological Society (BES) Annual Meeting from 10^th to 13^th December 2024. These conferences provided them with opportunities to enhance their ongoing research in distinct areas—Maserati focuses on fish behaviour, while Jane specializes in fish community development.

Maserati and Jane had unique experiences at each conference. Maserati delivered poster presentations at both events, with a particular highlight being at RCUK, where her poster earned her the Runner-Up for Best Poster Award. Jane presented her research as a talk at RCUK and via a poster presentation at BES. At both events, their work was well received and attracted considerable attention from many other scientists. People were fascinated to hear their insights on how fish communities have developed and are behaving on restored coral reefs at Bontosua Island.

The RCUK conference focusses exclusively on coral reef conservation, so Maserati and Jane had the chance to discuss their research with leading experts in the specific field of coral reef ecology. In contrast, the BES conference has a much broader ecological scope, allowing Maserati and Jane to share their work with ecologists working on many different topics beyond coral reefs. This led to interesting conversations and ideas about how we can learn different concepts from the restoration of different ecosystems, ultimately coming together to help us restore nature in a more holistic way. 

Engaging with experts and researchers from around the world provided valuable feedback on their work, allowing Jane and Maserati to further develop their analyses. Their research highlights the ecological impacts of reef restoration, and they hope to finalize their work by March 2025, ready for publication in a scientific journal. They hope it will contribute valuable insights into how restoration efforts affect not just coral regrowth but also reef-associated marine life, emphasizing an ecosystem-wide conservation approach.

These opportunities for Maserati and Jane were made possible through the unwavering support of their academic supervisors, Dr. Tim Lamont (Lancaster University) and Dr. Tries B. Razak (IPB University), as well as the Mars Coral Restoration Project team, who assisted with fieldwork on Bontosua Island. They’re grateful to have been granted internship funding from Sheba that is facilitating a four-month visit to Dr Lamont’s research group at Lancaster University (UK), and travel grants from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI) to help cover conference attendance costs.