Coastal urbanisation and climate change are driving the global proliferation of artificial coastal defences. These structures have significant effects on the ecology of marine habitats, leading to the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Ecological engineering—the integration of ecological principles and engineering for the benefit of both humans and nature—is a form of Nature Based Solution that is being increasingly adopted to alleviate the negative impacts associated with coastal defences by improving their ecological functioning. One of the more successful eco-engineering strategies is to add tiles with complex topographies, microhabitats, and water-retaining features. These can increase the richness and abundance of species reminiscent of native communities. 

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Moving forward, how can we incorporate habitat complexity and green elements into new sustainable coastal defence designs, and what additional benefits may they be able to provide?

 

Dr Peter Todd is an experimental marine ecologist who focuses on urban marine systems. He works on increasing understanding of the ecology and functioning of tropical coastal marine organisms and communities under environmental stress. His research is multidisciplinary, synthesising elements of biology, geography, and engineering to answer ecological questions. His team has 19 years of experience in the conceptualisation, build, implementation, and analysis of novel experiments, and over a decade designing and testing a wide range of sustainable shoreline solutions. Dr Todd is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, where he runs the Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory and is director of the Bachelor of Environmental Studies programme. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers on coastal systems and his lab’s research is featured regularly in both local and international media.