Coral Gardening - Transplantation Phase — Florida Key

OPP-MCSFVTpermanent identifier · cite as oceanportfolio.org/p/OPP-MCSFVT

Published as: Thermal stress reveals a genotype-specific tradeoff between growth and tissue loss in restored Acropora cervicornis | Technique: Coral Gardening - Transplantation Phase | Genera: Acropora | Method: Conducted a 21 mo field experiment to examine the influence of genotypic identity and diversity on coral growth, habitat production, and survivorship in restored corals. Used nursery-raised colonies of Acropora cervicornis to establish populations of either 1, 2, 4, or 6 distinct genotypes. A thermal stress event allowed the testing of thermal tolerance in different genotypes. | Survival of transplants reported by the source: 60.45% | Post-restoration monitoring: 21 months | Authors' conclusion: After 21 mo there was no effect of genotypic diversity on restored corals, but genotypes differed 3-fold in survivorship and 20 to 327% in habitat production. Initial growth rates showed a significant positive relationship with live tissue loss at the end of the experiment, suggesting a tradeoff between growth and the ability to recover from thermal stress. Our study suggests that genotypic identity is a critical factor to incorporate into coral restoration planning. | Lessons reported: Investigating the role of genotypic identity and diversity on the ability of restored corals to resist pervasive coral reef stressors, such as disease, predator outbreaks, and nutrient pollution, are critical steps in advancing coral 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.

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.