The deployment of artificial reef ecosystem: Modelling, simulation and application

Artificial reefs (ARs) have been demonstrated to be a potential tool for the restoration of marine habitat and to retard the stress of coral reefs in recent decades. For most engineers, the deployment of an artificial reef ecosystem (ARE) is based on their experience, but what is the effective deployment to produce the higher abundance and to enrich biomass under the finite budget is seldom mentioned. In fact, how to deploy artificial reefs into the selected site and construct an effective ARE is the most challenge to ecological engineers.The main objective of this research is to construct a mathematical model called the deployment of artificial reef communities (DARCs) model, and then to provide a concrete approach for deploying an ARE under the finite budget. The constructing spirit of DARCs model is based on the observations of biologists that a higher complexity of habitat system will increase the species diversity and biomass. The fractal dimension (FD) is applied as an assessing indicator for the habitat system complexity of ARE in this study. In addition, a step-by-step algorithm for achieving the maximal fractal dimension of an ARE through the determinations of the number of deployed artificial reef communities (ARCs), the distance of adjacent ARCs, and the spatial configuration of ARCs in an ARE is presented. A computerized tool written by Fortran program to conduct the design of an ARE as well as perform the simulated analyses is completely proposed, and a case study is followed. The simulation-based analyses of changing budget reveal that the FD of a given region will be constrained regardless of increasing budget. This phenomenon shows that the more deployment of ARCs may lead to waste capital. Finally, a decision support system called DSSforARE is established for the quick-design of an AR ecosystem under the consideration of conservation policy.