Growth and Survival Rate of Three Transplanted Coral Taxa (Acropora robusta, Pocillopora damicornis and Platygyra daedalea) on Coral Reefs in Eastern Thailand

Authors

  • Piyasak Sangpaiboon Department of Aquatic Science Faculty of Science Burapha University Chonburi
  • Narinratana Kongjandtre Department of Aquatic Science Faculty of Science Burapha University Chonburi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7009-0916

Abstract

Coral reefs currently suffer from degradation as a result of both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Although natural recovery can occur in some reefs, it is a very slow process. Coral reef rehabilitation is one of the popular efforts to restore degraded reefs. However, it is unclear which parameters should be used to evaluate the suitability of new habitats for transplants. This study tests the effect of environmental variables on morphological plasticity among transplanted clone-mates in corals including Acropora robusta, Pocillopora damicornis and Platygyra daedalea. The corals were transplanted from Viharn Luang Phor Dam Beach, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province (as reference site) to experimental sites in Koh Sichang, Chonburi Province; Koh Mun Nai, Rayong Province; and Koh Rad- Koh Kood, Trat Province for 8 months during June 2020 – February 2021. At the end of the study, mean growth rates of Acropora sp., P. damicornis and P. daedalea were found to be 0.48+1.37, 0.15+0.42 and 0.04+0.41 cm/month, respectively. Survival rate varied among coral taxa and sites Acropora robusta and P. damicornis had significantly lower survival (p < 0.05) at Viharn Luang Phor Dam than at other sites. Meanwhile, P. daedalea had significantly lower survival (p < 0.05) at Koh Mun Nai and Koh Sichang.Correlations between environmental variables and growth rates of transplanted corals show significant relationships (p < 0.05) with positive and negative effects on growth rate. Some effects may not have been revealed due to the short monitoring time in this project and the low number of replicates as a result of damage to some transplants. Future work should involve long-term monitoring of transplanted coral and more replications of transplants. Keywords:  Acropora ; Pocillopora ; Platygyra ; rehabilitation ; morphology 

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Published

2023-01-04