Editing Coral reef (section)

===Relocation===
[[File:Coral_transplant.jpg|thumb|Coral in preparation of being relocated]]
One case study with coral reef restoration was conducted on the island of [[Oahu]] in [[Hawaii]]. The [[University of Hawaii]] operates a Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program to help relocate and restore coral reefs in Hawaii. A boat channel from the island of Oahu to the [[Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology|Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology]] on [[Coconut Island (Oahu Island)|Coconut Island]] was overcrowded with coral reefs. Many areas of coral reef patches in the channel had been damaged from past dredging in the channel.

Dredging covers corals with sand. Coral larvae cannot settle on sand; they can only build on existing reefs or compatible hard surfaces, such as rock or concrete. Because of this, the university decided to relocate some of the coral. They transplanted them with the help of [[United States Army]] divers, to a site relatively close to the channel. They observed little if any damage to any of the colonies during transport and no mortality of coral reefs was observed on the transplant site. While attaching the coral to the transplant site, they found that coral placed on hard rock grew well, including on the wires that attached the corals to the site.

No environmental effects were seen from the transplantation process, recreational activities were not decreased, and no scenic areas were affected.

As an alternative to transplanting coral themselves, juvenile fish can also be encouraged to relocate to existing coral reefs by auditory simulation. In damaged sections of the Great Barrier Reef, loudspeakers playing recordings of healthy reef environments were found to attract fish twice as often as equivalent patches where no sound was played, and also increased species biodiversity by 50%.