Effects of substratum on the growth and survivorship of Montipora capitata and Porites lobata transplants
2017
Dubininkas, Vitalis
Artificial transplantation of corals is a common method used to restore damaged or unhealthy coral assemblages. Though a number of studies have successfully transplanted coral fragments, there is no general consensus on the type of substratum to be used. The present study focused on the growth and survivorship of Montipora capitata (rice coral) and Porites lobata (lobe coral) fragments, which were transplanted onto different natural and synthetic substrata. No significant differences in coenosarc tissue growth or survivorship were observed between the species. Measurements after 184days of growth, found transplant growth to be significantly higher on rhyolite breccia and amorphous coral skeletons than on black ʻAʻā lava. Nevertheless, no significant differences were observed between any of the other substrata. After 365days of growth, survivorship was also observed to not be significantly different between substrata; with the only exception of being lower on glass substratum. It is hypothesized that success in a coral reef restoration project is largely determined by the actual coral fragmentation and transplantation process; as no distinct substratum affinity was observed for M. capitata and P. lobata transplants.
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