Abstract Summary
Active coral reef restoration is a fast-growing area of research around the world. The largest projects emerged from a need to accelerate the repopulation of threatened species in the Caribbean. With the increasing threat of climate change, restoration is rapidly becoming a platform for incorporating recent developments in assisted evolution, assisted migration or gene flow, and assisted fertilization and recruitment. Compared to other reefs worldwide, the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) is a region with low coral biodiversity and less-developed reef frameworks. However, the corals here persist in an environment characterized by wide fluctuations in temperature, pH and salinity. The main goal of this project is to develop sound propagation and restoration practices for the main reef-building corals in the ETP as a basis for restoring reefs with more climate-adapted corals in the future. An underwater nursery was established in Golfo Dulce, Southern Pacific of Costa Rica. A coral tree nursery was established to propagate fragments of Pocillopora spp. (n=171) massive Porites spp. (194) and encrusting Pavona gigantea (103). Survival was highest for Pocillopora spp. (87%) and P. gigantea (98%), and lowest for Porites spp. (39%). Survival and growth rates varied with orientation of the fragments and with length of time in the nursery. Surviving colonies of all species were typically ready for outplanting between 6-9 months. Three test outplantings have so far yielded high survival and growth. We will report further on these results and future research plans for this ETP coral restoration program.
