Coral transplantation is considered as one of the major tools to increase coral abundance for degraded coral reefs.To investigate the effects of various methods and coral species in transplantation, coral fragments（n...Coral transplantation is considered as one of the major tools to increase coral abundance for degraded coral reefs.To investigate the effects of various methods and coral species in transplantation, coral fragments（n=902） of five coral species were transplanted by four methods at Luhuitou, the Sanya Bay, Hainan Province, China, where the reef has been over-exploited and is still threatened by human activities and natural disasters. Ten months after the transplant, the average survivorship of the transplanted corals was 45.5%. Methodologies had different effects on the transplanted corals, but none of them was efficacious for all coral species. Methodology could not change the decreasing trend for Montipora foliosa and Acropora hyacinthus, although it did slow down their decline. All transplants of A. hyacinthus and M. foliosa had high mortalities and significant decrease on survival area, while Porites andrewsi and Galaxea fascicularis had lower mortalities and partial mortalities. Only one method had significant effect on increasing survival area of G. fascicularis, same as P. andrewsi. Out of the five transplanted coral species, Pocillopora damicornis was the only species that had living tissue area increase in all applied methods, while the others had decreased live tissue area in one or more methods. The results of this study suggested that performing coral transplantation in a highly threatened area was not efficient unless the threats were diminished or erased. Moreover, proper species selection for coral transplantation is crucial, especially in a disturbed environment. Methodology, although having limited effects on improving results of coral transplantation, cannot compensate the maladjustment of vulnerable species to the stresses on the Luhuitou Reef. Coral transplantation on Luhuitou Reef should not be performed unless the stresses are under controlled,and corals with good tolerance to the environment should be considered first.展开更多
Coral restoration is becoming popular to help restoring degraded coral reefs.However,few studies have tried to monitor the long-term recovery of coral reefs,which makes it diffi cult to assess the performance of the r...Coral restoration is becoming popular to help restoring degraded coral reefs.However,few studies have tried to monitor the long-term recovery of coral reefs,which makes it diffi cult to assess the performance of the restoration.We monitored the growth of three transplanted Acropora corals and naturally-attached Pocillopora damicornis on artifi cial reefs(ARs)from October 2014 to September 2018 during which there were several attacks of typhoons.Results show that two staghorn Acropora species had the highest growth rates(11.0–12.1 cm/a),followed by table coral A.divaricate(5.6 cm/a)and P.damicornis(4.8 cm/a).A linear growth pattern was found for the three Acropora species;the pattern gradually slowed in P.damicornis.There was a strong interspecifi c competition for space among the corals on ARs,and it led to the sharply declined occurrence of slow-growing P.darmicornis colonies in 2017.Coral recovery was successful at the Wuzhizhou Island and quickly increased AR complexity.However,the ARs made of metal frames fail to resist the direct attack from a catastrophic typhoon.Therefore,concrete and environmentalfriendly materials should be used in future restoration.This study is the fi rst report on long-term monitoring and assessment of coral reef restoration in China.The results off er future guide of reef restoration for impaired coral reefs in regions easily aff ected by typhoons.展开更多
基金The Key Technology Project of Hainan under contract No.ZDZX2013014-3the Ocean Public Welfare Scientific Research Project under contract Nos 201105012-2 and 201305030-3the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under contract Nos41206140 and 41306144
文摘Coral transplantation is considered as one of the major tools to increase coral abundance for degraded coral reefs.To investigate the effects of various methods and coral species in transplantation, coral fragments（n=902） of five coral species were transplanted by four methods at Luhuitou, the Sanya Bay, Hainan Province, China, where the reef has been over-exploited and is still threatened by human activities and natural disasters. Ten months after the transplant, the average survivorship of the transplanted corals was 45.5%. Methodologies had different effects on the transplanted corals, but none of them was efficacious for all coral species. Methodology could not change the decreasing trend for Montipora foliosa and Acropora hyacinthus, although it did slow down their decline. All transplants of A. hyacinthus and M. foliosa had high mortalities and significant decrease on survival area, while Porites andrewsi and Galaxea fascicularis had lower mortalities and partial mortalities. Only one method had significant effect on increasing survival area of G. fascicularis, same as P. andrewsi. Out of the five transplanted coral species, Pocillopora damicornis was the only species that had living tissue area increase in all applied methods, while the others had decreased live tissue area in one or more methods. The results of this study suggested that performing coral transplantation in a highly threatened area was not efficient unless the threats were diminished or erased. Moreover, proper species selection for coral transplantation is crucial, especially in a disturbed environment. Methodology, although having limited effects on improving results of coral transplantation, cannot compensate the maladjustment of vulnerable species to the stresses on the Luhuitou Reef. Coral transplantation on Luhuitou Reef should not be performed unless the stresses are under controlled,and corals with good tolerance to the environment should be considered first.
基金Supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2018YFC1406503),the Scientifi c Research Foundation of Third Institutes of Oceanography“Fujian Provincial Station for Field Observation and Research of Island and Coastal Zone in Zhangzhou”(No.TIO 2019017)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41976127)the China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund Project“Monitoring and Conservation of coastal ecosystems in the South China Sea”and“China-ASEAN Countries Collaboration on Marine Endangered Species Researches(MESR)”。
文摘Coral restoration is becoming popular to help restoring degraded coral reefs.However,few studies have tried to monitor the long-term recovery of coral reefs,which makes it diffi cult to assess the performance of the restoration.We monitored the growth of three transplanted Acropora corals and naturally-attached Pocillopora damicornis on artifi cial reefs(ARs)from October 2014 to September 2018 during which there were several attacks of typhoons.Results show that two staghorn Acropora species had the highest growth rates(11.0–12.1 cm/a),followed by table coral A.divaricate(5.6 cm/a)and P.damicornis(4.8 cm/a).A linear growth pattern was found for the three Acropora species;the pattern gradually slowed in P.damicornis.There was a strong interspecifi c competition for space among the corals on ARs,and it led to the sharply declined occurrence of slow-growing P.darmicornis colonies in 2017.Coral recovery was successful at the Wuzhizhou Island and quickly increased AR complexity.However,the ARs made of metal frames fail to resist the direct attack from a catastrophic typhoon.Therefore,concrete and environmentalfriendly materials should be used in future restoration.This study is the fi rst report on long-term monitoring and assessment of coral reef restoration in China.The results off er future guide of reef restoration for impaired coral reefs in regions easily aff ected by typhoons.
