A comparison of epibenthic reef communities settling on commonly used experimental substrates: PVC versus ceramic tiles

Published source details Mallela J., Milne B.C. & Martinez-Escobar D. (2017) A comparison of epibenthic reef communities settling on commonly used experimental substrates: PVC versus ceramic tiles. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 486, 290-295.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use settlement tiles made from unnatural materials to encourage natural coral settlement Action Link

Use settlement tiles made from unnatural materials to encourage natural coral settlement

A replicated study in 2012–2015 at coral reef patches (‘microatolls’) off One Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Mallela et al. 2017) found that PVC pipes and the top of ceramic settlement tiles were colonized by a lower number of small stony coral recruits than the underside of ceramic tiles but there was no difference for larger coral colonies or overall coral cover. After 34 months, no coral recruits (<1 cm) were attached to PVC pipes or the top of ceramic tiles, compared to an average of 0.2 (range 0–2) on the underside of ceramic tiles. There was no difference in the average number of coral colonies (>1 cm) attached to PVC pipes (0.7, range 0–8) or the underside (0.6, range 0–7) or topside (0.2, range 0–3) of ceramic tiles. There was no difference in total coral cover (recruits and colonies) between settlement materials (data presented as a figure). In May 2012, thirty PVC pipes and 61 unglazed ceramic tiles were each fixed, horizontally, to a PVC frame attached to the substrate using cable ties. Ceramic tiles were placed in pairs with one tile facing upwards (30 tiles) and one facing down (31 tiles). PVC frames were placed randomly within three microtolls at 1–2 m deep. Corals were counted and measured in March 2015.

(Summarised by: Ann Thornton)