Differential survival of nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis outplants along the Florida reef tract

Published source details Woesik R.v., Banister R.B., Bartels E., Gilliam D.S., Goergen E.A., Lustic C., Maxwell K., Moura A., Muller E.M., Schopmeyer S., Winters R.S. & Lirman D. (2021) Differential survival of nursery-reared Acropora cervicornis outplants along the Florida reef tract. Restoration Ecology, 29, e13302.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Transplant nursery-grown coral onto natural substrate Action Link

Transplant nursery-grown coral onto natural substrate

A replicated study in 2012–2018 at around 68 coral reef sites across the Florida reef tract, USA (van Woesik et al. 2021) found that after transplanting nursery-grown staghorn corals Acropora cervicornis fragments on to natural substrates, medium and large fragments had higher survival than small fragments, and survival increased with latitude. Survival was higher for medium and larger coral fragments (65–67 % after 800 days) than smaller fragments (51% after 800 days). Survival increased with latitude of transplant site (48% at 24.5°N, 85% at 26.5°N after 800 days). In addition, authors reported differences in survival due to the specific reef habitat but no differences in survival due to attachment method or genetic diversity of coral transplants. Authors collated data from six coral transplanting programs on survival for a total of 22,634 corals transplanted in 2012–2018 (405–15,917 corals/program). Corals were raised in nurseries along the Florida reef tract and transplanted out to six natural reef habitats using nails and cable ties or epoxy. Survival was monitored one month and one-year post-transplant, and at some sites annually for four years. Corals were grouped by size (small: 1–15 cm, medium: 16–50 cm, large: 51–160 cm) for analysis.

(Summarised by: William Morgan)