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© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Coral reef ecosystems are continuously degraded by anthropogenic and climate change drivers, causing a widespread decline in reef biodiversity and associated goods and services. In response, active restoration methodologies and practices have been developed globally to compensate for losses due to reef degradation. Yet, most activities employ the gardening concept that uses coral nurseries, and are centered in easily-accessible reefs, with existing infrastructure, and impractical for coral reefs in remote locations. Here we evaluate the effectiveness of direct outplanting of coral micro-fragments (Pavona clavus and Pocillopora spp.) as a novel approach to restore remote reefs in the Islas Marías archipelago in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Coral growth (height-width-tissue cover), survival percentage, extension rates (cm year−1), skeletal density (g cm−3) and calcification rates (g cm−2 year−1) were assessed over 13 months of restoration. In spite of detrimental effects of Hurricane Willa, transplants showed a greater-than-twofold increase in all growth metrics, with ~58–61% survival rate and fast self-attachment (within ~3.9 months) for studied species, with Pocilloporids exhibiting higher extension, skeletal density, and calcification rates than Pavona. While comprehensive long-term studies are required, direct transplantation methodologies of coral micro-fragments are emerging as time-effective and affordable restoration tools to mitigate anthropogenic and climate change impacts in remote and marginal reefs.

Details

Title
Micro-Fragmentation as an Effective and Applied Tool to Restore Remote Reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Author
J J Adolfo Tortolero-Langarica 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rodríguez-Troncoso, Alma P 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cupul-Magaña, Amílcar L 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rinkevich, Baruch 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT Bahía de Banderas, Crucero a Punta de Mita S/N, Bahía de Banderas, C.P., Nayarit 63734, Mexico 
 Laboratorio de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigaciones Costeras, Centro Universitario de la Costa, Universidad de Guadalajara. Av. Universidad No. 203, Puerto Vallarta, C.P., Jalisco 48280, Mexico; [email protected] (A.P.R.-T.); [email protected] (A.L.C.-M.) 
 Israel Oceanography and Limnological Research, National Institute of Oceanography, Tel Shikmona, P.O. Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel 
First page
6574
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
MDPI AG
ISSN
1661-7827
e-ISSN
1660-4601
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2442366459
Copyright
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.