Sefano M. Katz’s research while affiliated with Ruppin Academic Center and other places

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Publications (1)


The construction of Reef Carpets (RCs) on sandy substrates and 17-months follow up of the 3 RCs established
Deployment of the Reef Carpets plots on a soft-bottom substrate, to restore the typical reef structures in the area (a1, a2). a3–a6 An RC plot at: a3 construction; a4 immediately after deployment; a5) 7 months following deployment; a6) 17 months following deployment; b Survival (%) of transplants; c Percentages of colonies exhibiting partial mortality cases; d Partial mortality magnitude (% tissue loss/colony); e Self-attachment. Results are mean ± SE. A mixed-model ANOVA was performed for each panel. Letters on the right side denote statistically significant groups (Tukey post-hoc tests, p < 0.05). a1 and a2—courtesy by S. Shafir.
Fish and gastropods corallivory on coral colonies residing within Reef Carpets and numbers of residing predatory gastropods within coral colonies
Predation by fish and gastropods a Fish corallivory (%); b Average numbers of damaged sites per affected colony; c Transplants (%) with predatory snails; d Average numbers of predatory gastropod in affected colonies. Mean ± SE. In panels “a” and “c”, a mixed-model ANOVA was performed and significant differences between the coral species metrics are denoted by letters (α, β) on the left side in these panels (Tukey post-hoc tests, p < 0.05).
Species-environment b-plots based on a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) for the effect of environmental factors (arrows) on RC community structure (species/taxa represented by triangles)
a Fish species/taxa. Eigenvalues: axis 1 = 0.530; axis 2 = 0.228. The variance explained by each axis (%) is shown. b Invertebrate species. Eigenvalues: axis 1 = 0.466; axis 2 = 0.375. The variance explained by each axis (%) is shown. For clarity, only environmental variables (arrows) are shown (see Fig. S7 for the complete diagram with the 123 taxa). c Crustacean species. Eigenvalues: axis 1 = 0.651; axis 2 = 0.353. In each ordination diagram, the variance explained by each axis (%) is shown. Environmental variables: time in months since RC transplantation (Date); spotted in a live A. cf. variabilis, P. damicornis, or S. pistillata colony (Ac Alive, Pd Alive, and Sp Alive, respectively), in a dead colony of the before mentioned species (Ac Dead, Pd Dead, and Sp Dead, respectively), or at the understory (Tray). For a list of species abbreviations—see Tables S2 and S3.
Species diversity based on Chao 1 and Chao 2 richness estimators ( ± SD) of reef-associated communities developing on the RC plots over 17 months
a fish diversity, b invertebrate diversity, c crustacean diversity associated with live colonies, dead colonies, and the understory spaces of A. cf. variabilis, P. damicornis and S. pistillata transplants. In each panel, diversity was compared with one-way ANOVAs. Letters on the right side denote statistically significant groups (Tukey HSD post-hoc tests p < 0.05; Tables S6, S8, S10).
Shifting reef restoration focus from coral survivorship to biodiversity using Reef Carpets
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January 2024

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5 Citations

Communications Biology

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Sefano M. Katz

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Baruch Rinkevich

To enhance the practice of farmed-coral transplantation, we conducted a trial of an approach called “Reef Carpets” (RC), which draws inspiration from the commercial turf-grass sod in land-based lawn gardening. Three 8.4m² RCs were established on a sandy seabed, containing preselected combinations of branching corals (Acropora cf. variabilis, Pocillopora damicornis, Stylophora pistillata) with nursery recruited dwellers, and were monitored for 17-months. Corals within RCs grew, supported coral recruitment and offered ecological habitats for coral-associated organisms. While the unstable sediment underneath the RCs increased corals’ partial mortalities, corals managed to grow and propagate. The extent of fish and gastropods corallivory varied among the coral species and planulation of Stylophora transplants was significantly higher than same-size natal-colonies. The RCs provided conducive environments for fish/invertebrate communities (183 taxa), and each coral species influenced specifically species-diversity and reef-associated communities. Even dead corals played crucial roles as habitats for reef biota, sustaining >80% of the RCs diversity; hence, they should not be considered automatically as indicators of failure. RCs scaled-up reef restoration and generated, in short periods, new reefs in denuded zones with enhanced biodiversity. Yet, RCs employment on soft-beds could be improved by using more structured artificial frameworks, requiring further research efforts.

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Citations (1)


... These stressors have led to rapid transformations in coral communities and a subsequent reduction in reef functionality across the Caribbean [6]. In response, conservationists have launched efforts to restore coral populations by outplanting asexually propagated coral fragments [7] and sexually propagated coral recruits [8] onto degraded reefs. Restoration activities are widespread, covering multiple Caribbean islands [9,10], the U.S. [11], and Central and South America [12]. ...

Reference:

Cryptic coral community composition across environmental gradients
Shifting reef restoration focus from coral survivorship to biodiversity using Reef Carpets

Communications Biology