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Demonstrating effective Caribbean acroporid population enhancement: all three nursery-grown, out-planted taxa spawn August 2015 & 2016 in Belize

  • December 2016
Authors:
Lisa Carne at Fragments of Hope
Lisa Carne
  • Fragments of Hope
Iliana B Baums at Pennsylvania State University
Iliana B Baums
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REEF ENCOUNTER Dec 2016
The News Journal of the International Society for Reef Studies
Short Communications: Demonstrating effective Caribbean acroporid
population enhancement... Carne and Baums
42 | P a g e VOLUME 31 NUMBER 2 December 2016
Demonstrating effective Caribbean
acroporid population enhancement:
all three nursery-grown, out-planted
taxa spawn August 2015 & 2016 in
Belize
Lisa Carne1 and Iliana Baums2
1Fragments of Hope, Ltd., Placencia, Belize;
email lisasinbelize@gmail.com
2Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University,
208 Mueller Lab, University Park; email PA baums@psu.edu
Successful in situ coral cultivation has been
demonstrated in multiple regions with multiple
methods (Young et al. 2012), but information is sparse
on the survivorship and effectiveness of outplanting
nursery-reared corals to reefs. In Belize, Acropora
palmata fragments were transferred to Laughing Bird
Caye National Park in 2006 after bleaching, disease
and hurricanes (1998 and 2001) had extirpated the
local population. Based on their survival, the
experiment was scaled up in 2009 by adding eight in
situ nurseries. Host and symbiont genotypes were
determined for 23 acroporids (Bowden-Kerby & Carne
2012; Baums et al. 2005, 2014). Host genotypes were
established to ensure genet diversity of nursery-grown
out-planted corals and allow for sexual reproduction
to enhance the restored acroporid populations (Baums
2008). Large scale out-planting of Acropora began in
2010 and continues. Different genets of each taxon
were out-planted close to each other with distances
apart of 50cm-10m for A. cervicornis and 1m-10m for
A. palmata, so that subsequently successful cross-
fertilization could occur.
In August 2015, all three nursery-grown acroporid taxa
out-planted in December 2010 spawned: A. palmata
(two genets), A. prolifera (one genet) (see Fig. 1) and
A. cervicornis (two genets) (Fig. 2). Although nursery
grown, out-planted A. cervicornis have previously been
observed spawning in Florida (K Nedimyer, pers.
comm.) and Belize, this is the first documentation of
nursery-reared A. palmata and A. prolifera showing
gamete release. Spawning of nursery-reared,
outplanted acroporids was documented again in
August 2016. These colonies had been outplanted
from between 14 months and four years before
Figure 1. Spawning in nursery reared, outplanted
Acropora palmata (above) and A. prolifera (below).
Photos: Annelise Hagan.
REEF ENCOUNTER
The News Journal of the International Society for Reef Studies
Short Communications: Spawning of outplanted nursery-grown Acropora
VOLUME 31 NUMBER 2 December 2016 43 | P a g e
spawning was observed. Two additional A.
cervicornis genets showed gamete formation 19
months aftert out-planting (Carne et al. 2016 in
review). Spawning times for both years (2015-2016)
were around 20:50-21:20 hrs (Belize time) and
spawning dates and times coincided with the spawning
of wild acroporids at Carrie Bow Caye, Belize (N.
Fogerty pers. comm).
Documenting these spawning events is an essential
monitoring tool to illustrate the success of the use of
in situ cultivation and outplanting of genetically
diverse acroporid populations. In future work, the
proximity of outplanted corals should be manipulated
to investigate optimal spacing for successful larval
production. Cultivation followed by outplanting is an
effective management strategy to enhance
endangered acroporid populations.
Acknowledgements
Documentation of the 2015 -2016 spawning events was
completed for the IDB’s Coral Reef Restoration Program. The
work was also possible thanks to collaboration with the
Belize Fisheries Department and Southern Environmental
Association and with the assistance of vessels donated by
the Moorings, Belize. Genotyping was performed by
Meghann Devlin Durante in the Baums laboratory at the
Pennsylvania State University.
References:
Baums IB (2008) A restoration genetics guide for coral reef
conservation. Mol Ecol 17:2796-2811
Baums IB (2008) A restoration genetics guide for coral reef
conservation. Mol Ecol 2008, 17:2796-2811.
Baums IB, Devlin-Durante MK, LaJeunesse TC (2014) New
insights into the dynamics between reef corals and their
associated dinoflagellate endosymbionts from
population genetic studies. Mol Ecol 23:4203-4215
Bowden-Kerby A, Carne L (2012) Thermal tolerance as a
factor in Caribbean Acropora restoration. Proc 12th Int
Coral Reef Symp 1-5
Carne L, Kaufman L, Scavo K (2016) Measuring success for
Caribbean acroporid restoration: Key results from ten
years of work in southern Belize. (ICRS Proceedings in
review)
Young CN, Schopmeyer SA, Lirman D (2012) A review of reef
restoration and coral propagation using the threatened
Genus Acropora in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic.
Bull Mar Sci Vol 88:1075-1098
1
Figure 2. Spawning in nursery reared, outplanted Acropora
cervicornis. Photo Annelise Hagan.
... Regionally, Caribbean acroporid corals were included in the US Endangered Species Act (2006) and designated as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List (2008). Marine scientists and ecologists have responded by initiating coral restoration activities to enhance the resiliency of vulnerable reefs, with active restoration techniques becoming a popular practice for many acroporid species [4][5][6]. Due to the increase in coral restoration work around the world, there is a need for improved monitoring techniques to measure the success of coral growth across increasingly larger restoration sites [7,8]. To address this issue, we investigated the utility of an Unoccupied Aerial System (UAS) to quantify the spatial extent and growth of three acroporid species (A. ...
... We provide a quantitative UAS-based monitoring framework at a local scale for stakeholders in need of measuring coral restoration success. We were interested in documenting the natural spread of these reintroduced species over time over a larger area, which could not be captured by diver-based photomosaics or other traditional benthic monitoring methods, which sample at smaller spatial scales [4][5][6][7][8] (Figure 1). Caye National Park (LBCNP) in Belize since 2006. ...
... We provide a quantitative UAS-based monitoring framework at a local scale for stakeholders in need of measuring coral restoration success. We were interested in documenting the natural spread of these reintroduced species over time over a larger area, which could not be captured by diverbased photomosaics or other traditional benthic monitoring methods, which sample at smaller spatial scales [4][5][6][7][8] (Figure 1). Here are examples of how the spatial detail in the data and the area coverage changes, based on the platform used to collect data. ...
The Use of Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UASs) for Quantifying Shallow Coral Reef Restoration Success in Belize
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
There is a growing need for improved techniques to monitor coral reef restoration as these ecosystems and the goods and services they provide continue to decline under threats of anthropogenic activity and climate change. Given the difficulty of fine-scale requirements to monitor the survival and spread of outplanted branching coral fragments, Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UASs) provide an ideal platform to spatially document and quantitatively track growth patterns on shallow reef systems. We present findings from monitoring coral reef restoration combining UAS data with object-oriented segmentation techniques and open-source GIS analysis to quantify the areal extent of species-specific coverage across ~one hectare of shallow fringing reef over a one-year period (2019–2020) in Laughing Bird Caye National Park, southern Belize. The results demonstrate the detection of coral cover changes for three species (Acropora cervicornis, Acropora palmata, and Acropora prolifera) outplanted around the caye since 2006, with overall target coral species cover changing from 2142.58 to 2400.64 square meters from 2019 to 2020. Local ecological knowledge gathered from restoration practitioners was used to validate classified taxa of interest within the imagery collected. Our methods offer a monitoring approach that provides insight into coral growth patterns at a fine scale to better inform adaptive management practices for future restoration actions both within the park and at other reef replenishment target sites.
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... These efforts have limitations that they do not enhance the genetic diversity of a population until the fragments reach sexual maturity. Although nursery-grown asexual coral fragments have recently been reported to spawn (Carne and Baums, 2016), recruitment success is often impaired, in particular in the degraded reefs that are targeted for restoration. In addition, the potential to successfully produce offspring depends on the genetic diversity and size of the source population (i.e. ...
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... Acropora cervicornis takes up the most space in current nurseries (Lirman and Schopmeyer 2016). On some reefs in Belize and the Dominican Republic, A. cervicornis has been restored to high densities (Lirman and Schopmeyer 2016) and outplants are spawning (Carne and Baums 2016). In Florida, a shift to Acropora palmata and multi-species restoration with an emphasis on reef-building is now underway. ...
Considerations for maximizing the adaptive potential of restored coral populations in the western Atlantic
Article
Full-text available
  • Jul 2019
Active coral restoration typically involves two interventions: crossing gametes to facilitate sexual larval propagation; and fragmenting, growing, and outplanting adult colonies to enhance asexual propagation. From an evolutionary perspective, the goal of these efforts is to establish self‐sustaining, sexually reproducing coral populations that have sufficient genetic and phenotypic variation to adapt to changing environments. Here, we provide concrete guidelines to help restoration practitioners meet this goal for most Caribbean species of interest. To enable the persistence of coral populations exposed to severe selection pressure from many stressors, a mixed provenance strategy is suggested: genetically unique colonies (genets) should be sourced both locally as well as from more distant, environmentally distinct sites. Sourcing 3‐4 genets per reef along environmental gradients should be sufficient to capture a majority of intraspecies genetic diversity. It is best for practitioners to propagate genets with one or more phenotypic traits that are predicted to be valuable in the future, such as low partial mortality, high would healing rate, high skeletal growth rate, bleaching resilience, infectious disease resilience, and high sexual reproductive output. Some effort should also be reserved for underperforming genets because colonies that grow poorly in nurseries sometimes thrive once returned to the reef and may harbor genetic variants with as yet unrecognized value. Outplants should be clustered in groups of 4‐6 genets to enable successful fertilization upon maturation. Current evidence indicates that translocating genets among distant reefs is unlikely to be problematic from a population genetic perspective but will likely provide substantial adaptive benefits. Similarly, inbreeding depression is not a concern given that current practices only raise first‐generation offspring. Thus, proceeding with the proposed management strategies even in the absence of a detailed population genetic analysis of the focal species at sites targeted for restoration is the best course of action. These basic guidelines should help maximize the adaptive potential of reef‐building corals facing a rapidly changing environment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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... Recently, it has been shown that A. prolifera produces oocytes and spawns in the wild (Nylander-Asplin 2018). In addition, in Belize, nursery-reared colonies of A. prolifera have spawned and the dates and times are coincident with the spawning of wild acroporids (Carne & Baums 2016. Thus, it is quite possible that A. prolifera gametes are fecund (see Isomura et al. (2016) for an experimental example of sexually fecund hybrids from Indo-Pacific acroporids) and that it may be just a matter of time before we find evidence of prolifera F 1 hybrids successfully cross resulting in viable F 2 offspring. ...
Fossil Acropora prolifera (Lamarck, 1816) reveals coral hybridization is not only a recent phenomenon
Article
Full-text available
Acropora prolifera is an ecologically distinctive western Atlantic reef-building coral that originates from hybridization and back-crossing between A. palmata and A. cervicornis. It has been suggested that A. prolifera might be a recent product of precipitous decline in the abundance of the two parent species, forcing hybridization where both it and its product might not otherwise be prevalent phenomena. We present evidence that A. prolifera has a fossil record dating back to at least the late Pleistocene, and that it was ecologically significant prior to the region-wide die-back of acroporid corals. These data, when taken collectively, reveal that hybridization in the Caribbean acroporids is historically rooted and not a recent artifact of changes in Caribbean reef ecology. It is becoming apparent that hybrid taxa likely play an important but underappreciated role in coral reef ecology and reef-building more generally. This is consistent with recent recognition that interspecific hybridization can drive evolutionary innovation and cladogenesis in animals as well as plants.
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