Results from a large scale restoration effort using storm generated fragments from Hurricane Matthew transplanted to multiple reef sites in Southwest Puerto Rico

Coral reefs are frequently impacted by storms and vessel groundings. As a result of these impacts, thousands of corals are often broken, dislodged, and flipped over. These loose fragments and corals are subject to continual abrasion, scour, and sedimentation, which ultimately result in death. Unchecked, these damages can result in additional reef loss and instability. However, if dislodged fragments can be collected and stabilized shortly after physical impacts then the probability of survival increases substantially. Restoration efforts can be performed in situ where impacts occurred or at-risk corals can be transported to other sites to promote coral recovery on degraded reefs. Results will be presented 2 years after over 8,500 corals were transplanted from one damaged reef to multiple reef sites in Southwest Puerto Rico after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. These types of impacts create thousands of at-risk corals that can be used for restoration.