Tammy Teong1, Hongjian Du1, Hao Zhang1, Hengyi Jiang2, Peter Todd1
1National University of Singapore, Singapore - 2Rockmann Pte Ltd, Singapore
Ecological engineering solutions, such as biodiversity enhancement tiles, can help mitigate some of the adverse effects of shoreline armouring. In recent years, 3D Construction Printing (3DCP) has emerged as a promising technique for creating ecological habitats with intricate geometries. However, the potential of 3DCP tiles to support marine biodiversity on artificial coastal structures remains largely unexplored. Hence, we investigated the effects of cast BioBoss2 and 3D-printed ‘BioMesh’ and ‘BioHive’ (n = 6) green concrete enhancement tiles on species richness and biotic cover. The tiles, measuring 440 mm in diameter and weighing approximately 13 kg, were attached along granite seawalls at two island sites in Singapore at approximately 0.4 m above chart datum using stainless steel bolts and left in place for 6 mo. Monthly surveys were conducted to identify and count invertebrates and to photograph tiles for algal percentage cover analysis. Initial findings suggest that macrofauna species richness does not differ among designs, but BioBoss2 appears to support higher macrofauna abundance while the 3DCP designs have more macroalgal cover. The final results will be presented.
Biography
Tammy is a Master’s student in the Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory (EMEL) at the National University of Singapore. For her undergraduate final year project in EMEL, she studied the marine bioreceptivity of six green concretes, demonstrating their potential to support diverse algal communities.