Coral larvae for restoration and research: a large-scale method for rearing Acropora millepora larvae, inducing settlement, and establishing symbiosis

PeerJ

article

F. Joseph Pollock¹  Sefano M. Katz¹  Jeroen A.J.M. van de Water¹  Sarah W. Davies⁷  Margaux Hein³  Gergely Torda¹  Mikhail V. Matz⁷  Victor H. Beltran¹  Patrick Buerger¹  Eneour Puill-Stephan¹  David Abrego¹  David G. Bourne¹  Bette L. Willis² 

[1] Australian Institute of Marine Science;AIMS@JCU;ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University of North Queensland;College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University of North Queensland;Eberly College of Science, Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park;Centre Scientifique de Monaco;Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin;Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;Department of Biology, Boston University;College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University

关键词: Coral;    Conservation;    Spawning;    Larvae;    Restoration;    Husbandry;    Great Barrier Reef;    Coral reef;    Symbiodinium;    Acropora;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.3732

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Here we describe an efficient and effective technique for rearing sexually-derived coral propagules from spawning through larval settlement and symbiont uptake with minimal impact on natural coral populations. We sought to maximize larval survival while minimizing expense and daily husbandry maintenance by experimentally determining optimized conditions and protocols for gamete fertilization, larval cultivation, induction of larval settlement by crustose coralline algae, and inoculation of newly settled juveniles with their dinoflagellate symbiont Symbiodinium. Larval rearing densities at or below 0.2 larvae mL−1 were found to maximize larval survival and settlement success in culture tanks while minimizing maintenance effort. Induction of larval settlement via the addition of a ground mixture of diverse crustose coralline algae (CCA) is recommended, given the challenging nature of in situ CCA identification and our finding that non settlement-inducing CCA assemblages do not inhibit larval settlement if suitable assemblages are present. Although order of magnitude differences in infectivity were found between common Great Barrier Reef Symbiodinium clades C and D, no significant differences in Symbiodinium uptake were observed between laboratory-cultured and wild-harvested symbionts in each case. The technique presented here for Acropora millepora can be adapted for research and restoration efforts in a wide range of broadcast spawning coral species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY