Abstract Summary
We are working in Belize to restore the full suite of coral reef attributes and services on shallow lagoonal reefs and reef crests. Here, acroporid replacement works at otherwise recalcitrant sites, with results similar to nearby natural regeneration. Success is greatest in shallow waters when coolest and corals are sexually less active, minimizing stress and facilitating colony attachment. Experiments can reveal what works best: (1) single species restoration of fast-growing acroporids or (2) replacement of a suite of preexisting species that trend toward the original hard coral community. Reef habitats vary in depth, location and species composition so restoration should vary accordingly. In Florida framework-building species are essentially on life support while in Belize cover is higher and there is some spontaneous regeneration. Nonetheless, Florida could still restore a valuable veneer reef, whereas in Belize it may be possible to restore entire reefs, re-establishing rugosity, carbonate accretion, upward reef growth and shoreline protection. Restoration goals should match the desired suite of ecosystem services for recovery, for example: single species demographic security (as for endangered species), biodiversity maintenance, aesthetic quality, fish habitat quality, carbonate accretion, current shoreline protection, and upward reef growth keeping pace with sea level. Natural patterns of community recovery may differ from current restoration practices depending on site. The implications of this should be examined, as for example in the outplanting of framework-builders on bare reef rock versus degraded reef rich in persistent non-framework builders such as Porites astreoides, because these could possibly contribute to the natural regeneration of framework-builders. Alternative successional pathways, (e.g. toward Acropora palmata versus Agaricia tenuifolia reef crest on Atlantic Mesoamerican reefs) suggest that we might need to guide succession after outplanting. Coral restoration is most practical in shallow, sheltered, well-grazed waters where biophysical and social factors are favorable and values to people are most readily apparent.
