Transplant captive-bred or hatchery-reared individuals of habitat-forming (biogenic) species that are resistant to climate change

Overall effectiveness category No evidence found (no assessment)
Number of studies: 0
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Effectiveness

not assessed
Certainty

not assessed
Harms

not assessed

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Many marine species are vulnerable to climate change (Hoegh-Guldberg & Bruno 2010), but preserving their habitats and promoting biodiversity is thought to help improve the overall resistance of the system and help alleviate the negative effects of climate change.

Transplanting individuals of habitat-forming (biogenic) species (such as kelp, seagrass, mussels, oysters or corals) resistant to climate change can potentially provide a climate-resistant habitat for associated species (van Oppen et al. 2015). These climate-resistant strains or families could be developed for instance through selective breeding or genetic modification (van Oppen et al. 2015). For instance, transplanting individuals of climate-resistant strains of reef-building oysters (Parker et al. 2011) grown in a hatchery may help create an oyster reef that will be resilient to climate change and beneficial to associated subtidal benthic invertebrates.

Evidence related to the transplantation of individuals outside of the context of climate change are summarised under “Habitat restoration and creation – Transplant captive-bred or hatchery-reared habitat-forming (biogenic) species”.

_{Hoegh-Guldberg O. & Bruno J.F. (2010) The impact of climate change on the world’s marine ecosystems. Science, 328, 1523–1528.}

_{Parker L.M., Ross P.M. & O’Connor W.A. (2011) Populations of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, vary in response to ocean acidification. Marine Biology, 158,3, 689–697.}

_{van Oppen M.J., Oliver J.K., Putnam H.M. & Gates R.D. (2015) Building coral reef resilience through assisted evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112, 2307–2313.}

Key messages

We found no studies that evaluated the effects of transplanting captive-bred or hatchery-reared individuals of habitat-forming/biogenic species that are resistant to climate change on subtidal benthic invertebrate populations.

‘We found no studies’ means that we have not yet found any studies that have directly evaluated this intervention during our systematic journal and report searches. Therefore, we have no evidence to indicate whether or not the intervention has any desirable or harmful effects.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Please cite as:

Lemasson, A.J., Pettit, L.R., Smith, R.K. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation. Pages 635-732 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Subtidal Benthic Invertebrate Conservation

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Promote natural carbon sequestration species and/or habitats Action Link	No evidence found (no assessment)	Synopsis Link