Effectiveness of coral relocation as a mitigation strategy in Kāne‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i

PeerJ

article

Ku’ulei S. Rodgers¹  Koi Lorance²  Angela Richards Don๠ Yuko Stender¹  Claire Lager¹  Paul L. Jokiel¹ 

[1] University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology;Taylor Shellfish Natural Energy Laboratory

关键词: Coral reef;    Dredging;    Restoration;    Hawai‘i;    Transplantation;    Coral relocation;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.3346

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Coral reef restoration and management techniques are in ever-increasing demand due to the global decline of coral reefs in the last several decades. Coral relocation has been established as an appropriate restoration technique in select cases, particularly where corals are scheduled for destruction. However, continued long-term monitoring of recovery of transplanted corals is seldom sustained. Removal of coral from a navigation channel and relocation to a similar nearby dredged site occurred in 2005. Coral recovery at the donor site and changes in fish populations at the receiving site were tracked periodically over the following decade. Coral regrowth at the donor site was rapid until a recent bleaching event reduced coral cover by more than half. The transplant of mature colonies increased spatial complexity at the receiving site, immediately increasing fish biomass, abundance, and species that was maintained throughout subsequent surveys. Our research indicates that unlike the majority of historical accounts of coral relocation in the Pacific, corals transplanted into wave-protected areas with similar conditions as the original site can have high survival rates. Data on long-term monitoring of coral transplants in diverse environments is central in developing management and mitigation strategies.

【 授权许可】

CC BY