Growth and survival of Pocillopora damicornis (Scleractinia: Pocilloporidae) coral fragments and their potential for coral reef restoration in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

ABSTRACT

Transplantation of coral fragments is a common procedure for the restoration of degraded coral reefs. In the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP), the branching coral Pocillopora damicornis is the main reef-builder, and it frequently propagates through natural fragmentation; it is therefore a candidate for restoration efforts in this region. To evaluate the usefulness of P. damicornis for reef restoration in the TEP, fragments of three lengths were used: small (1–2 cm), medium (4 cm) and large (7 cm). Fragments of these three sizes were attached on the back-reef, reef flat and reef crest of La Azufrada reef (Gorgona Island, Colombian Pacific). Coral length, width, weight, and survival were followed during 119 days. Furthermore, skeletal density, linear extension and calcification rates of each coral fragment were obtained to evaluate the growth rates as a function of initial size and position on the reef. The overall fragment survival rate was 83.5%, but small fragments survived less, particularly on the back reef, than medium or large fragments. Fragment growth was greatest on the reef flat, whereas medium and large fragments grew faster than small ones. The overall mean of skeletal density, linear extension and calcification rates were 1.70 gCaCO₃ cm⁻³, 1.89 cm yr⁻¹ and 3.16 gCaCO₃ cm⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively. These growth rates were comparable to those of other reef-building coral species in the world. Growth and survival rates of P. damicornis coral fragments found in this study, suggest that successful and low-cost restoration of TEP coral reefs is feasible using this species.

SUBJECT EDITOR:

• Naoko Isomura

KEYWORDS:

• Calcification rate
• fragmentation
• growth rates
• branching corals
• Gorgona Island
• skeletal density

Acknowledgements

We thank Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia for their logistical support at Gorgona Island, and Carlos G. Muñoz, María del Mar Palacios and Ana L. Castrillón for their help in the field and laboratory. Universidad del Valle funded translation services for the first draft of this manuscript. We specially thank Adam Suchley for his comments and English corrections, which helped to improve this manuscript. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for comments that improved the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Luis David Lizcano-Sandoval http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2312-1836

Edgardo Londoño-Cruz http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5762-9430

Fernando A. Zapata http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8989-4458

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (COLCIENCIAS), grant 1106-489-25135 awarded to F.A.Z.