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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
Determining the diversity and relative abundance of coral taxa in wild spawning slicks for effective restoration
Frontiers in ecology and evolution, Vol.13, pp.1-12
02/07/2025
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Abstract
Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by climate change-induced stressors, including marine heatwaves, which can lead to coral mortality, reduced reproductive output, and compromised natural recovery. Successful coral reef recovery requires the settlement of coral larvae and recruitment in degraded areas, replenishing coral communities and promoting resilience. Some restoration strategies involve utilizing natural spawning slicks, composed of coral gametes and embryos, to produce larvae to reseed reefs. However, verifying the taxonomic composition of these slicks is challenging. Here, we tested the performance of two coral ITS primer sets, CoralITS2 and CoralITS2_acro, on mock communities to evaluate their ability to capture genera composition and relative abundances. Both primer sets demonstrated high accuracy (>97%) in detecting and quantifying coral taxa. Subsequently, these primers were applied to wild-collected spawning slicks from the Great Barrier Reef, revealing variation in scleractinian (reef-building) coral community composition among slicks. For the CoralITS2_acro assay, Acropora was consistently the most abundant resolved genus detected across wild slick sample sites, with the exception of samples from the Whitsundays region, where Platygyra was dominant. The CoralITS2 assay successfully differentiated reef-building (Scleractinian) corals from other co-occurring spawning taxa, such as soft corals, anemones, and sponges, and revealed that these other co-spawners dominated slicks at two sites. Our findings underscore the potential of eDNA-based monitoring as a scalable tool to confirm the presence and relative abundance of diverse coral assemblages in natural slicks, informing restoration efforts. By enabling the characterization and comparison of slick composition across large spatial and temporal scales, eDNA metabarcoding can support restoration practices that align with the ecological requirements of reef ecosystems, safeguarding biodiversity and promoting resilience against future disturbances.
Details
- Title
- Determining the diversity and relative abundance of coral taxa in wild spawning slicks for effective restoration
- Creators
- Bailey Marquardt - University of AlgarveHolland Elder - Australian Institute of Marine ScienceYun Kit Yeoh - Australian Institute of Marine ScienceAndrew Heyward - The University of Western AustraliaCarly J. Randall - Australian Institute of Marine SciencePeter L. Harrison - Southern Cross UniversityMurray Logan - Australian Institute of Marine ScienceEmily Howells - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in ecology and evolution, Vol.13, pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A.; LAUSANNE
- Grant note
- This study was funded by The Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), a partnership between the Australian Governments Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and a Paul G Allen Family Foundation Grant to PH.
- Identifiers
- 991013294052102368
- Copyright
- © 2025 Marquardt, Elder, Yeoh, Heyward, Randall, Harrison, Logan and Howells. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article