Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array (UZELA): A technology solution to enhance zooplankton abundance and coral feeding in bleached and non-bleached corals

Abstract

Coral resilience to heat stress is higher in corals that eat more zooplankton. In addition, coral feeding on zooplankton increases as zooplankton concentrations increase. To leverage the advantage that zooplankton feeding has on coral resilience, we developed the Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array (UZELA). UZELA is a patented autonomous, submersible, and programmable underwater light that is deployable for 6 months on a single battery. With 1 h of operation per night, it locally concentrates naturally occurring zooplankton, providing corals with greater feeding opportunities. Field tests show that UZELA increases local zooplankton concentrations by sevenfold compared to adjacent non-UZELA controls and coral feeding rates by 10 to 50-fold in both healthy and bleached Montipora capitata and Porites compressa corals compared to conspecifics without UZELA. With the continuing decline of coral reefs, technologies that can enhance coral feeding could play a critical role in coral resilience for coral in restoration nurseries and on the reef.