Coral gardening - transplantation, substrate addition - artificial reefs — Florida

OPP-GXANRJpermanent identifier · cite as oceanportfolio.org/p/OPP-GXANRJ

Published as: Memphis Grounding Restoration | Technique: Coral gardening - transplantation, substrate addition - artificial reefs | Disturbance addressed: yes | Genera: Mixed | Method: Rubble removal preceded, One hundred-sixty small (1.13 m) Reef Balls® were organized into 40, 4-module reef units (quads), each in a square configuration with 3-m sides. Each quad had ReefBalls with one of four attractant treatments: iron, limestone, coral transplants, or plain concrete (control). Each ReefBall had two standardized settlement plates incorporating one of the attractant treatments. Innovative use of coral cores of nearby massive species were collected and transplanted onto the re… | Survival of transplants reported by the source: 82% | Post-restoration monitoring: 30 months | Authors' conclusion: The results of this experimental, hypothesis-driven study highlight the interaction of biotic and abiotic ecosystem components and indicate the need for a broad, ecosystem approach to restoration rather than a myopic single-organism approach. The species-specific differences in transplant growth and mortality indicate that species selection must be an important considered in future coral reef restoration efforts. The unanticipated species-specific difference in mortality also indicates the need for an adaptive-management approach to restoration. | Lessons reported: the dramatic difference in survival and growth between M. cavernosa and M. meandrites transplants clearly indicates that species selection and potential species-specific responses to transplant methodology (e.g. coring) must be critical considerations in future coral reef restoration efforts. | This record was compiled from a published source and has not been confirmed by the organisation that carried out the work. No contribution to the condition index is recorded: the source reports survival of transplanted material, which is not a measure of ecosystem condition.

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