Abstract Summary
Hurricanes are known to cause damage to coral reefs through dislodgement, substrate destabilization, and mortality. The effects of hurricanes on coral nurseries, however, remains poorly understood. As the number of coral restoration projects grows and projected frequency of hurricanes increases across the Caribbean, understanding this relationship is critical. Here we examined damage caused by two hurricanes (Matthew, October 2016; Irma, September 2017) to an in situ Acropora cervicornis nursery. Fragments were grown in a nursery off Fort Lauderdale, Florida on two different structures: 1 m3 concrete modules and coral trees. Data were collected pre and post-storm, documenting survival, fragmentation, disease, and biological interactions. Increased colony mortality on both structures was observed following each storm lasting for multiple monitoring events. Variability between structures and storms were also reported for missing, broken, and diseased colonies. High abundance of missing colonies were reported for both structures following Matthew, but only observed for coral trees following Irma. Additionally, Irma caused widespread physical damage to both structures and a significant increase in disease prevalence. Colony mortality on the modules increased significantly two-months following Irma, indicating delayed storm mortality. These results indicate hurricanes can cause extensive mortality, disease, and damage throughout nurseries that can linger for months after the storm has passed. Practitioners should be prepared for these impacts with short and long term plans in place prior to an incoming storm.
