Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration
Coral restoration is rapidly becoming a mainstream strategic reef management response to address dramatic declines in coral cover worldwide. Restoration success can be defined as enhanced reef functions leading to improved ecosystem services, with multiple benefits at socio-ecological scales. Howeve...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/153 |
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| author | Margaux Y. Hein Roger Beeden Alastair Birtles Naomi M. Gardiner Thomas Le Berre Jessica Levy Nadine Marshall Chad M. Scott Lisa Terry Bette L. Willis |
| author_facet | Margaux Y. Hein Roger Beeden Alastair Birtles Naomi M. Gardiner Thomas Le Berre Jessica Levy Nadine Marshall Chad M. Scott Lisa Terry Bette L. Willis |
| author_sort | Margaux Y. Hein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coral restoration is rapidly becoming a mainstream strategic reef management response to address dramatic declines in coral cover worldwide. Restoration success can be defined as enhanced reef functions leading to improved ecosystem services, with multiple benefits at socio-ecological scales. However, there is often a mismatch between the objectives of coral restoration programs and the metrics used to assess their effectiveness. In particular, the scales of ecological benefits currently assessed are typically limited in both time and space, often being limited to short-term monitoring of the growth and survival of transplanted corals. In this paper, we explore reef-scale responses of coral assemblages to restoration practices applied in four well-established coral restoration programs. We found that hard coral cover and structural complexity were consistently greater at restored compared to unrestored (degraded) sites. However, patterns in coral diversity, coral recruitment, and coral health among restored, unrestored, and reference sites varied across locations, highlighting differences in methodologies among restoration programs. Altogether, differences in program objectives, methodologies, and the state of nearby coral communities were key drivers of variability in the responses of coral assemblages to restoration. The framework presented here provides guidance to improve qualitative and quantitative assessments of coral restoration efforts and can be applied to further understanding of the role of restoration within resilience-based reef management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:25:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-643d84a5236145a59dbabdd6c0088d79 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:25:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-643d84a5236145a59dbabdd6c0088d792023-11-19T21:52:51ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182020-04-0112415310.3390/d12040153Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to RestorationMargaux Y. Hein0Roger Beeden1Alastair Birtles2Naomi M. Gardiner3Thomas Le Berre4Jessica Levy5Nadine Marshall6Chad M. Scott7Lisa Terry8Bette L. Willis9College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaGreat Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaCollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaCollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaReefscapers Pvt Ltd., Seamarc, Marine Discovery Centre, Landaa Giraavaru 20215, MaldivesCoral Restoration Foundation, Key Largo, FL 03037, USACSIRO Land and Water, ATSIP Building#145, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaConservation Diver, Evergreen, CO 80439, USAThe Nature Conservancy Caribbean Program, 3052 Estate Little Princess, Christiansted, VI 00820, USACollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaCoral restoration is rapidly becoming a mainstream strategic reef management response to address dramatic declines in coral cover worldwide. Restoration success can be defined as enhanced reef functions leading to improved ecosystem services, with multiple benefits at socio-ecological scales. However, there is often a mismatch between the objectives of coral restoration programs and the metrics used to assess their effectiveness. In particular, the scales of ecological benefits currently assessed are typically limited in both time and space, often being limited to short-term monitoring of the growth and survival of transplanted corals. In this paper, we explore reef-scale responses of coral assemblages to restoration practices applied in four well-established coral restoration programs. We found that hard coral cover and structural complexity were consistently greater at restored compared to unrestored (degraded) sites. However, patterns in coral diversity, coral recruitment, and coral health among restored, unrestored, and reference sites varied across locations, highlighting differences in methodologies among restoration programs. Altogether, differences in program objectives, methodologies, and the state of nearby coral communities were key drivers of variability in the responses of coral assemblages to restoration. The framework presented here provides guidance to improve qualitative and quantitative assessments of coral restoration efforts and can be applied to further understanding of the role of restoration within resilience-based reef management.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/153coral assemblagescoral restorationeffectivenessmonitoring |
| spellingShingle | Margaux Y. Hein Roger Beeden Alastair Birtles Naomi M. Gardiner Thomas Le Berre Jessica Levy Nadine Marshall Chad M. Scott Lisa Terry Bette L. Willis Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration Diversity coral assemblages coral restoration effectiveness monitoring |
| title | Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration |
| title_full | Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration |
| title_fullStr | Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration |
| title_short | Coral Restoration Effectiveness: Multiregional Snapshots of the Long-Term Responses of Coral Assemblages to Restoration |
| title_sort | coral restoration effectiveness multiregional snapshots of the long term responses of coral assemblages to restoration |
| topic | coral assemblages coral restoration effectiveness monitoring |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/12/4/153 |
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