Comparative analysis of biofilm bacterial communities developed on different artificial reef materials.

This article focuses on how different artificial reef materials influence the composition of biofilm bacterial communities and their potential to support coral larval settlement, which is critical for coral reef restoration. The study compared six materials—porcelain, granite, coral skeleton, calcium carbonate, shell cement (a mix of oyster shell powder and cement), and cement—by analyzing biofilm bacterial diversity using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that biofilms on all materials had higher bacterial richness and evenness than seawater, with dominant phyla including Pseudomonadota, Cyanobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. Notably, shell cement biofilms exhibited higher abundances of bacterial genera such as Pseudoalteromonas and Thalassomonas, which are considered potential settlement inducers for coral larvae, suggesting shell cement’s suitability for enhancing coral rehabilitation efforts. The findings highlight the importance of substrate material selection in artificial reef design to optimize microbial communities that facilitate coral larval settlement and reef restoration.