A team of Portuguese and Spanish researchers monitored marine life in Madeira and Porto Santo for almost a decade to compare natural and artificial reefs. The scientists' objective was to understand whether structures created by humans, mainly sunken ships, can fulfill similar functions to those of natural geological formations.
The conclusions of the study, published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, were clear: artificial structures help preserve marine biodiversity, but do not replace the ecological complexity of natural reefs. Artificial reefs function as support for marine life, but do not fully reproduce the environment of natural systems.
This research took place over nine years of continuous monitoring, allowing researchers to have an in-depth view of the differences between the two types of reefs and their impact on local biodiversity.
