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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Density of coral larvae can influence settlement, post-settlement colony abundance and coral cover in larval restoration
Scientific Reports, Vol.10, pp.1-11
26/03/2020
PMCID: PMC7099096
PMID: 32218470
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Successful recruitment of new individuals is essential for recovery of degraded coral reefs. Enhancing supply of coral larvae increases initial settlement, however post-settlement survival can be influenced by density-dependent processes. We investigated the influence of larval density on settlement, colony abundance and growth to 24 months for Acropora tenuis in the north-western Philippines, to determine whether larval supply can be optimised to maximise successful recruitment. Thirty different densities of coral larvae were enclosed for five days around settlement tiles and highest total settlement occurred on tiles with highest larval densities. After 12 months, however, colony abundance and coral cover was lower on high density tiles (supplied with ~2,500-5,000 larvae) than tiles supplied with ~1,000-2,000 larvae. Coral cover at 24 months remained highest on tiles supplied with ~1,000-2,500 larvae. Larval density influenced larval substratum selection, with proportionally fewer larvae settling in typically preferred locations as density increased. We conclude that larval density can influence post-settlement colony abundance and coral cover to 12 months, with coral cover trends persisting to 24 months. We show that optimising larval densities can maximise coral recruitment and growth, however oversupply of larvae at very high densities can have negative outcomes for larval restoration.
Details
- Title
- Density of coral larvae can influence settlement, post-settlement colony abundance and coral cover in larval restoration
- Creators
- Kerry A Cameron - Southern Cross UniversityPeter L Harrison - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Scientific Reports, Vol.10, pp.1-11
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group; England
- Grant note
- This study was funded by an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) grant FIS/014/063 to P.H.
- Identifiers
- 991012925424602368
- Copyright
- Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. © The Author(s) 2020
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Marine Ecology Research Centre; School of Environment, Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article