Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change has had severe impacts on environments around the world, none more so than coral reefs. Despite occurring in less than 1% of global marine environments, these reefs are responsible for over 25% of all marine biodiversity and play a crucial role in maintaining the health of our oceans. Degradation of reefs as a result of continued bleaching events, high temperatures, severe storm events and continued disturbance by human development have led to a reduction in coral reef health and subsequently a drop in marine biodiversity. In response to continued global deterioration of reef health, coral rehabilitation programmes have been launched around the world in order to help reduce the rate of reef loss and to try protecting the valuable ecosystems they support. Coral rehabilitation and conservation efforts have been undertaken on a global scale from the Asia-Pacific to the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. There is a need to better understand what the best practice for rehabilitation within these areas, how artificial reefs are being used, and to what extent they are contributing to the conservation of biodiversity and marine environments. This research paper will analyse recent artificial reef literature from different global regions, specifically looking at several parameters related to their implementation and effect on local environments. These include: types of artificial reefs, their physical and biological configuration, how they contribute to biomass growth, and whether certain substrates affect their success rates. By recording these variables and comparing artificial reef efforts in different regions, it will create a comprehensive understanding of current marine conservation efforts. This analysis will determine the most effective ways to conserve and protect biodiverse coral sites using artificial reefs.
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