Effectiveness of coral relocation as a mitigation strategy in Kāne‘ohe Bay, Hawai‘i

Coral reef restoration and management techniques are in ever-increasing demand due to the global decline of coral reefs in the last several decades. Coral relocation has been established as an appropriate restoration technique in select cases, particularly where corals are scheduled for destruction....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 5; p. e3346
Main Authors Rodgers, Ku’ulei S., Lorance, Koi, Richards Donà, Angela, Stender, Yuko, Lager, Claire, Jokiel, Paul L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published San Diego PeerJ, Inc 23.05.2017
PeerJ Inc
Subjects
Abundance
Coastal zone management
Conservation Biology
Coral bleaching
Coral reef
Coral reefs
Coral relocation
Corals
Dredging
Ecology
Ecosystem biology
Ecosystems
Eutrophication
Hawai‘i
Laboratories
Marine Biology
Protected areas
Restoration
Sedimentation & deposition
Transplantation
Mexico
Singapore
Japan
Seychelles
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Summary:Coral reef restoration and management techniques are in ever-increasing demand due to the global decline of coral reefs in the last several decades. Coral relocation has been established as an appropriate restoration technique in select cases, particularly where corals are scheduled for destruction. However, continued long-term monitoring of recovery of transplanted corals is seldom sustained. Removal of coral from a navigation channel and relocation to a similar nearby dredged site occurred in 2005. Coral recovery at the donor site and changes in fish populations at the receiving site were tracked periodically over the following decade. Coral regrowth at the donor site was rapid until a recent bleaching event reduced coral cover by more than half. The transplant of mature colonies increased spatial complexity at the receiving site, immediately increasing fish biomass, abundance, and species that was maintained throughout subsequent surveys. Our research indicates that unlike the majority of historical accounts of coral relocation in the Pacific, corals transplanted into wave-protected areas with similar conditions as the original site can have high survival rates. Data on long-term monitoring of coral transplants in diverse environments is central in developing management and mitigation strategies.
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.3346