Combined impacts of natural recruitment and active propagation for coral population recovery on the Great Barrier Reef

Roper, CD; Camp, EF; Edmondson, J; Suggett, DJ

Combined impacts of natural recruitment and active propagation for coral population recovery on the Great Barrier Reef

Roper, CD Camp, EF Edmondson, J Suggett, DJ

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Publisher:: Inter-Research Science Center
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2022, 700, pp. 95-109
Issue Date:: 2022-11-10

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Roper, CD
dc.contributor.author	Camp, EF
dc.contributor.author	Edmondson, J
dc.contributor.author	Suggett, DJ
dc.date.accessioned	2023-02-15T03:13:08Z
dc.date.available	2023-02-15T03:13:08Z
dc.date.issued	2022-11-10
dc.identifier.citation	Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2022, 700, pp. 95-109
dc.identifier.issn	0171-8630
dc.identifier.issn	1616-1599
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/166137
dc.description.abstract	Coral populations on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are experiencing long-term shifts in size structure, including steep declines in small colonies, driving major concerns for recovery through the supply of new recruits. Whilst coral restoration began on the GBR in 2018, the combined influence of natural recruitment and outplanting for coral population recovery has not been evaluated. Here, we assessed 2 sites (Rayban and Mojo) at Opal Reef that were subject to intensive outplant efforts over a 3 yr period (2018−2021). Coral cover did not change significantly, with a baseline of 15% in 2018 and a cover of 28 and 25% in Rayban outplant and control areas, respectively, in 2021, while Mojo exhibited a coral cover of 38% in 2018 and 52% (outplant area) and 29% (control area) in 2021. Natural recruitment in 2021 did not vary by site and was characterised by a settlement rate of 5.5 and 3.7 recruits tile−1 at Rayban and Mojo, respectively. Juvenile coral abundance and diversity were similar for control and outplant areas at each site. Over the 3 yr period, coral cover as a metric did not identify differences between control and outplant areas; however, size−frequency distributions of key coral taxa revealed a higher frequency of small to mid-sized colonies in outplant communities compared to controls. Given that no differences were observed in recruitment rates or juvenile abundances, variations in population structure appear to be driven by planting efforts rather than natural recovery. Our results demonstrate the need for combined monitoring of natural versus intervention-based rehabilitation to understand the impact of coral propagation efforts for local site recovery.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Inter-Research Science Center
dc.relation.ispartof	Marine Ecology Progress Series
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3354/meps14184
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	0405 Oceanography, 0602 Ecology, 0608 Zoology
dc.subject.classification	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology
dc.title	Combined impacts of natural recruitment and active propagation for coral population recovery on the Great Barrier Reef
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	700
utslib.for	0405 Oceanography
utslib.for	0602 Ecology
utslib.for	0608 Zoology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - C3 - Climate Change Cluster
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2023-02-15T03:13:07Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	700

Abstract:

Coral populations on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are experiencing long-term shifts in size structure, including steep declines in small colonies, driving major concerns for recovery through the supply of new recruits. Whilst coral restoration began on the GBR in 2018, the combined influence of natural recruitment and outplanting for coral population recovery has not been evaluated. Here, we assessed 2 sites (Rayban and Mojo) at Opal Reef that were subject to intensive outplant efforts over a 3 yr period (2018−2021). Coral cover did not change significantly, with a baseline of 15% in 2018 and a cover of 28 and 25% in Rayban outplant and control areas, respectively, in 2021, while Mojo exhibited a coral cover of 38% in 2018 and 52% (outplant area) and 29% (control area) in 2021. Natural recruitment in 2021 did not vary by site and was characterised by a settlement rate of 5.5 and 3.7 recruits tile−1 at Rayban and Mojo, respectively. Juvenile coral abundance and diversity were similar for control and outplant areas at each site. Over the 3 yr period, coral cover as a metric did not identify differences between control and outplant areas; however, size−frequency distributions of key coral taxa revealed a higher frequency of small to mid-sized colonies in outplant communities compared to controls. Given that no differences were observed in recruitment rates or juvenile abundances, variations in population structure appear to be driven by planting efforts rather than natural recovery. Our results demonstrate the need for combined monitoring of natural versus intervention-based rehabilitation to understand the impact of coral propagation efforts for local site recovery.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/166137