Abstract Summary
Historically, the transplantation of coral from surrounding reefs has been thought to degrade source areas and jeopardize donor colonies. The Reef Runway Coral Nursery is a novel coral nursery concept designed to aid in coral restoration efforts in response to reef injuries by harboring corals of opportunity and creating a stock-pile of donor material for future out planting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the survivorship and physiological responses of dislodged corals placed on the platform and to identify any ecological impacts of implementation. This presentation will focus on the potential ecological impacts of collecting corals from source areas as well as the impacts of the nursery structure using fish assemblages as an indicator. Results indicate that the collection of over 500 dislodged corals from approximately 1000 m2 of source area had no observable impact on associated fish assemblages. A substantial assemblage of fish, including over 20 different species, recruited to the nursery structure over time, with the addition of coral colonies. The collection of dislodged corals from rubble areas did not noticeably degrade the source area, and the accumulation of the colonies on the nursery structure created ample fish habitat, providing a potential net positive impact around the nursery. The Reef Runway Coral Nursery could prove to be a multi-functional restoration tool that serves primarily to harbor recovering corals for future out-planting, and secondarily as an artificial reef habitat, possibly a juvenile fish nursery, thus providing an overall positive restorative impact.
