An invasive species wreaking havoc in Brazil may soon experience its downfall after researchers developed a "promising" system with underwater robotics technology.
As detailed in INESC Brussels HUB's write-up for Phys.org, the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science revealed that it has a method of more efficiently and accurately tracking and removing sun coral — a threat to biodiversity.
In Brazil, the quickly generating coral took hold, devastating coral reefs, after being introduced in the late 1980s by the movement of oil platforms and shipping near Rio de Janeiro.
However, as INESC Brussels explains, the task of rooting out sun coral is time-consuming, with divers only able to approximate the invasive coral's location. The margin for error is generally at least "several" meters (one meter is over three feet).
To solve this, the INESC TEC team from Portugal partnered with Brazil's Research Laboratory of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (LASUB) and marked a designated testing area with buoys. Researchers used GPS as part of the triangulation, but they required acoustic signals to act as a "pinger" since the GPS doesn't work underwater. The buoys then received the data from the pinger and transmitted that information to a support boat.
INESC TEC researcher Nuno Cruz explained that divers also had the option to activate a type of "underwater switch" to flag locations of importance.
"With the use of this technology, we confirmed that it is possible to know quite accurately … the position where the corals were found and removed, which makes it possible to monitor this process with great reliability," Cruz said, per Phys.org. "This allows us to understand a certain colony's evolution, or absence, and the correlation with environmental conditions: e.g., sunlight, currents, water temperature, acidification, etc."
This tool is just one encouraging development in the battle against invasive species. One college student is propagating fungus as a chemical-free method to control a tree overtaking parts of the Midwest. Some experts have also promoted the consumption of edible species.
These efforts are crucial because invasive species — whether introduced accidentally or intentionally — can cause significant harm, and many are spreading more easily as a result of rising global temperatures.
According to the World Economic Forum, a four-year analysis found that invasives cause an estimated $423 billion in economic damages every year and are key actors in 60% of plant and animal extinctions, impacting food security and contributing to the spread of disease.
After acknowledging that sun coral lives in harmony with other species in its native ecosystems, Cruz noted that Brazil's LASUB researchers are working on removal tools for its invasive presence in the United States, per Phys.org. The underwater tracking system is now back in Portugal for further tests.
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