Growth and survival of coral micro-fragment in Chonburi Province, the Upper Gulf of Thailand
Keywords:
Micro-fragmentation, Coral restoration, Growth, Survival, Gulf of ThailandAbstract
Coral reefs are an important ecosystem with their unique characteristics and high biodiversity. They provide great benefits to the coastal communities and national economy. However, coral reefs and their ecosystem services have significantly declined. The advancement of coral restoration is necessary to develop improved techniques and methods, aiming to ensure the success of large-scale coral restoration projects. This study aims to compare the growth and survival rates of coral micro-fragments among four species, i.e, Diploastrea heliopora, Pavona desussata, Pavona varians and Lithophyllon undulatum in coral nursery plots at Ko Larn, Chonburi Province, the upper Gulf of Thailand. The results showed that the highest growth rate was observed in the coral micro-fragments with an initial size of 1 cm. D. heliopora had the highest growth rate (59.70%) and P. varians had the lowest micro-fragment growth rate (50.04%). The survival rate of every micro-fragment with initial sizes between 1 and 3 cm was higher than 95.67%. Among the initial sizes, there were significant differences in the survival rates of coral micro-fragments (One-way ANOVA, p < 0.05). The survival rates of D. heliopora and L. undulatum micro-fragments were higher than those of P. varians and P. decussata (Tukey's HSD, p < 0.05). This study highlights the critical importance of active coral reef restorations through the use of newly developed technologies of coral micro-fragmentation and colony fusion techniques, to enhance ecotourism, community-based tourism, and carbon-neutral tourism, as well as the efficacy and efficiency of efforts to restore coral reefs.
References
Ayre DJ, Hughes TP. (2004) Climate change, genotypic diversity and gene flow in reef‐building corals. Ecol Lett 7(4): 273-278
Bayraktarov E, Stewart‐Sinclair PJ, Brisbane S, Boström‐Einarsson L, Saunders MI, Lovelock CE, Wilson KA (2019) Motivations, success, and cost of coral reef restoration. Restor Ecol 27(5): 981-991
Boström-Einarsson L, Babcock RC, Bayraktarov E, Ceccarelli D, Cook N, Ferse SCA,
Hancock B, Harrison P, Hein M, Shaver E, Smith A, Suggett D, Stewart-Sinclair PJ, Vardi T, McLeod IM (2020) Coral restoration–a systematic review of current methods, successes, failures and future directions. PLOS ONE 15(1):e0226631. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0226631
Chen T, Roff G, McCook L, Zhao J, Li S (2018) Recolonization of marginal coral reef flats in response to recent sea‐level rise. JGR: Oceans 123(10):7618-7628
Combillet L, Fabregat-Malé S, Mena S, Marín-Moraga JA, Gutierrez M, Alvarado JJ (2022) Pocillopora spp. growth analysis on restoration structures in an Eastern Tropical Pacific upwelling area. PeerJ, 10, e13248.DOI 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2009.00562.x.
Forsman ZH, Page CA, Toonen RJ, Vaughan D (2015) Growing coral larger and faster:
micro-colony-fusion as a strategy for accelerating coral cover. PeerJ 3(1):e1313
DOI 10.7717/peerj.1313.
Harrington L, Fabricius K, De'ath G, Negri A (2004) Recognition and selection of settlement substrata determine post-settlement survival in corals. Ecology 85(12): 3428-3437. https://doi.org/10.1890/03-0744
Hein MY, Vardi T, Shaver EC, Pioch S, Boström-Einarsson L, Ahmed M, McLeod IM (2021) Perspectives on the use of coral reef restoration as a strategy to support and improve reef ecosystem services. Front Mar Sci 8: 299
Hicks CC, Graham NAJ, Cinner JE. (2013) Synergies and tradeoffs in how managers, scientists, and fishers value coral reef ecosystem services. Glob Environ Change 23(1): 444-1453
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Bruno J F (2010) The impact of climate change on the world's marine ecosystems. Science 328: 1523-1528
Knapp ISS, Forsman ZH, Greene A, Johnston EC, Bardin CE, Chan N, Wolke C, Gulko D, Toonen RJ (2022) Coral micro-fragmentation assays for optimizing active reef restoration efforts. PeerJ 10:e13653 DOI 10.7717/peerj.13653
Lirman D, Schopmeyer S (2016) Ecological solutions to reef degradation: optimizing coral reef restoration in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. PeerJ, 4, e2597. https://doi.org/ 10.7717/peerj.2597
Lock C, Bentlage B, Raymundo LJ (2022) Calcium homeostasis disruption initiates rapid growth after micro‐fragmentation in the scleractinian coral Porites lobata. Ecol Evol 12(9): e9345
Mace GM, Norris K, Fitter AH (2012) Biodiversity and ecosystem services: A multilayered relationship. Trends Ecol Evol 27(1):19-26
McManus LC, Forrest DL, Tekwa EW, Schindler DE, Colton MA, Webster MM, Pinsky ML (2021) Evolution and connectivity influence the persistence and recovery of coral reefs under climate change in the Caribbean, Southwest Pacific, and Coral Triangle. Glob Chang Biol 27(18):4307-4321
Omori M (2011) Degradation and restoration of coral reefs: Experience in Okinawa, Japan. Mar Biol Res 7: 3-12
Page CA, Muller EM, Vaughan DE (2018) Microfragmenting for the successful restoration of slow growing massive corals. Ecol Eng 123: 86-94. https://doi.org /10.1016/j.ecole ng.2018.08.017
Page C, Perry R, Lager CVA, Daly J, Bouwmeester J, Henley EM, Hagedorn M (2023) Tank fouling community enhances coral microfragment growth. PeerJ 11:e15723 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15723
Palumbi SR (2004) Marine reserves and ocean neighborhoods: the spatial scale of marine populations and their management. Annu Rev Environ Resour 29: 31-68.
Pittman SJ, Brown KA (2011) Multi-scale approach for predicting fish species distributions across coral reef seascapes. PLoS One 6(1): e205 - e283
Quigley KM, Ramsby B, Laffy P, Harris J, Mocellin VJ, Bay LK. (2022) Symbioses are restructured by repeated mass coral bleaching. Sci Adv 8(49): eabq8349
Robinson JP, Maire E, Bodin N, Hempson TN, Graham NA, Wilson SK (2022) Climate-induced increases in micronutrient availability for coral reef fisheries. One Earth, 5(1), 98-108
Schopmeyer SA, Lirman D, Bartels E, Gilliam DS, Goergen EA, Griffin SP, Walter CS (2017) Regional restoration benchmarks for Acropora cervicornis. Coral reefs 36: 1047-1057
Sneed JM, Sharp KH, Ritchie KB, Paul VJ (2014) The chemical cue tetrabromopy- rrole from a biofilm bacterium induces settlement of multiple Caribbean corals. Proc R Soc B: Biol Sci 281:20133086 DOI 0.1098/rspb.2013.3086
Steinberg AA (2021) Optimization of grow-out of bouldering coral microfragments: land vs. offshore nursery. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSU Works, (44) https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcas_etd_all/44
Suraswadi P, Yeemin T (2013) Coral reef restoration plan of Thailand. Galaxea 15 (S): 428-433
Sutthacheep M, Aunkhongthong W, Sangmaee N, Pengsakun S, Jungrak L, Kowinthawong C, Jowantha M, Yeemin T (2022) Assessing coral growth at the coral nurseries in Chumphon Province, the Western Gulf of Thailand. RIST 5(1): 10-17
Sutthacheep M, Chaithanavisut N, Sangsawang L, Pengsakun S, Klinthong W, Aunkongthong W, Limpichat J, Yeemin T (2023) Growth rates of coral micro-fragments from a coral restoration project at Koh Larn, Chonburi Province, Thailand. RIST 6(1):30-40
Thomas L, Kennington WJ, Evans RD, Kendrick GA, Stat M (2017) Restricted gene flow and local adaptation highlight the vulnerability of high‐latitude reefs to rapid environmental change. Glob Chang Biol 23(6): 2197-2205
Underwood JN, Smith LD, van Oppen MJH, Gilmour JP (2009) Ecologically relevant dispersal of corals on isolated reefs: implications for managing resilience. Ecol Appl 19:18–29
van der Ven RM, Heynderickx H, & Kochzius M (2021) Differences in genetic diversity and divergence between brooding and broadcast spawning corals across two spatial scales in the Coral Triangle region. Mar Biol 168: 17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03813-8
Yee SH, Carriger JF, Bradley P, Fishe WS, Dyson B (2015) Developing scientific information to support decisions for sustainable coral reef ecosystem services. Ecol Econ 115(1): 39-50
Yeemin T, Mantachitra V, Plathong S, Nuclear P, Klinthong W, Sutthacheep, M. (2012). Impacts of coral bleaching, recovery and management in Thailand. Proceedings of the 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia. pp. 9-13
Yeemin T, Sutthacheep M, Pettongma R (2006) Coral reef restoration project in Thailand. Ocean Coast Manag 49: 562-575
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 88(4):1075-1098
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Ramkhamhaeng International Journal of Science and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice: a copyright on any article in the published journal is retained by the Ramkhamhaeng International Journal of Science and Technology. Readers or Users grant the right to use of the Article contained in the Content in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND license and the Data contained in the Content in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND.
