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Mussel and oysters reefs – which are biodiversity hotspots that provide vital ecosystem services - are rapidly degrading worldwide. Ecologist Dr. Ralph J.M. Temmink (Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ) is working with a team of restoration practitioners, industrial product designers and 3D print engineers to create biodegradable marine structures as a suitable and scalable restoration method. Inspired by a biomimicry approach, the transdisciplinary developed and applied used an ‘ecology meets design-engineering’ framework that combined the strengths of each field to create a solution that neither would develop individually.  

Blending the process and thinking of designers and engineers with the ecosystem knowledge of ecologists, the team used a morphological analysis (see figure below) to develop and test a combination of prototype mussel beds to mimic the functions of a natural reef.  For example, a traditional ecological approach to restoration would focus on transplanting mussels from healthy to degraded reefs where they slowly rebuild the ecosystem. However, this traditional method is highly limited by time and donor organism availability. On the other hand, an industrial design approach would recreate traditional mussel beds with new materials, but not necessarily design new forms and use new materials. This was achieved through a co-creation process throughout the research, including co-designing the proposal and in-person co-creation sessions to design 3D-printed reef-structures. 

Additional Resources

Temmink, R.J.M., Angelini, C., Verkuijl, M., van der Heide, T. (2023). "Restoration ecology meets design-engineering: Mimicking emergent traits to restore feedback-driven ecosystems." Science of the Total Environment: 166460 

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