Journal article
Coral larval enhancement with and without nets yields similar recruitment during slack current releases
Restoration ecology, Vol.34(1), pp.1-12
01/2026
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Abstract
Introduction: Restoring coral reefs through larval enhancement has the potential to scale interventions beyond experimental plots of tens of m2. However, the effectiveness of releasing larvae without confinement (“free release”) remains untested. Understanding how confinement duration and larval density affect settlement and post-settlement survival is essential for designing logistically effective and scalable restoration strategies.
Objectives: This study examined whether naturally occurring slack current periods (lasting approximately 2.5–3 hours) can retain larvae over target reefs and support recruitment comparable to net-confined methods.
Methods: Coral larvae were released onto reef plots during slack currents under four treatments: free release, net confinement for 2.5 and 24 hours, and two larval densities (44,000 vs. 22,000 larvae.m−3) for the 2.5 hour treatment. Settlement and recruitment were monitored over 15 months on tiles and adjacent natural reef substrate, comparing recruit density, survival, and growth.
Results: All treatments yielded significantly higher settlement than natural background rates, with net-confined treatments producing 4–7 times more initial settlers than free release. However, after 15 months, recruit densities were similar across treatments, indicating density-dependent mortality in the first 8 months. Survival on tiles was low (<0.25), though improved by gregarious settlement, chimerism, and settlement near edges. In contrast, survival on reef substrate was 2.5–3.5 times higher, highlighting the influence of microhabitat and the need for reef-based metrics to assess restoration success.
Conclusions: Although free release during slack currents resulted in lower initial settlement, long-term recruit densities were comparable to net-confined methods, demonstrating its promise as a scalable coral restoration strategy.
Details
- Title
- Coral larval enhancement with and without nets yields similar recruitment during slack current releases
- Creators
- Marine Gouezo - Southern Cross UniversityPeter L. Harrison - Southern Cross UniversityGeorge Roff - Southern Cross UniversityAaron Chai - Southern Cross UniversityDamian P. Thomson - CSIRO Environment (Queensland, St Lucia)Magda Guglielmo - CSIRO IMT Scientific Computing Services (Australia)Lauren Hardiman - CSIRO Environment (Queensland, St Lucia)Alicia Forbes - Southern Cross UniversityBrint Gardner - CSIRO IMT Scientific Computing Services (Australia)Christopher Doropoulos - CSIRO Environment (Queensland, St Lucia)
- Publication Details
- Restoration ecology, Vol.34(1), pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Identifiers
- 991013323109502368
- Copyright
- © 2025 The Author(s).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article