Coral Gardening - Nursery Phase — Cousin Island Special Reserve

OPP-PH4PTBpermanent identifier · cite as oceanportfolio.org/p/OPP-PH4PTB

Published as: Reef fishes recruited at midwater coral nurseries consume biofouling and reduce cleaning time in Seychelles, Indian Ocean | Technique: Coral Gardening - Nursery Phase | Genera: Acropora, Pocillopora, Stylophora, Acanthastrea, Astreopora, Coscinaraea, Cyphastrea, Dipsastraea, Favites, Galaxea, Goniastrea, Goniopora, Hydnophora, Lobophyllia, Astrae, Montastrea, Pavona, Platyg… | Method: Deployed midwater net nurseries with coral fragments of mixed growth form. Observed nursery-associated fish assemblages with GoPro. Nurseries were then emptied and the fish surveys repeated. | Post-restoration monitoring: 7 months | Authors' conclusion: The density of blue-yellow damselfish Pomacentrus caeruleus was 12–16 times higher when corals were present than when corals were removed. Fish assemblages recruited into the nurseries included three trophic levels, from herbivores to omnivores, in six families: Ephippidae, Pomacentridae, Labridae (Scarinae), Gobiidae, Siganidae and Monacanthidae. Higher abundance of large fish (total number of individuals) resulted in 2.75 times less person-hours spent in nursery cleaning. | Lessons reported: Coral nurseries that attract recruiting fishes take less time and effort to clean, because the fish eat the algae and fouling organisms. | 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.

Recorded result

No result recorded yet. A result is recorded when the project moves to Paused, Completed or Discontinued.

A variable shows "pending" instead of a contribution when no domain area has been set for it yet — the share of the world a project touched cannot be computed without one. The health percentages are accurate regardless.