Effects of nursery table slope orientation on coral survival and growth

ABSTRACT

Transplanting nursery-reared corals is among one of the most common approaches to assist the recovery of degraded reefs. The nursery phase is considered essential for providing a favourable environment for coral fragments to grow into suitable sizes before transplantation to natural reef substrates. Several types of coral nursery designs have been used, but the effect of nursery table slope orientation on survival and growth of coral fragments has not been fully evaluated. Survival and growth of coral fragments from four species (Pectinia paeonia, Podabacia crustacea, Pocillopora acuta, Merulina ampliata) on three inclinations of nursery table top (horizontal (0°), diagonal (45°) and vertical (90°)) were monitored over six months. The effects of slope orientation on survival and growth of fragments were not significant among species except P. acuta, for which survivorship and growth decreased significantly only on vertical nursery tables. The conditions required for coral propagation, such as slope orientation of nursery tables and the initial size of fragments, clearly differ among species due to their inherent attributes and restoration success will greatly benefit from empirical studies derived from a wider range of species.

RESPONSIBLE EDITOR:

• Naoko Isomura

KEYWORDS:

• Orientation
• survival
• growth
• in-situ nurseries
• restoration

Acknowledgements

All fieldwork was conducted under the National Parks research permit NP/RP13-082 with permission from MPA. We specifically thank Muhammad Aizat Khalis-Daud and Samuel Loke for the assistance in the field; and Christina Choy Pei Pei for the help in coral image analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore, under the project grant R-347-000-215-490. The project was supported by the Marine Biology and Ecology Laboratory, Tropical Marine Science Institute at the National University of Singapore.