An experimental assessment of survival, re-attachment and fecundity of coral fragments

Smith, Luke; Hughes, Terry P.

doi:10.1016/s0022-0981(98)00178-6

Cited by 178 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…While it is difficult to disentangle differences in mortality due to size and age from other causes related to the timing of outplant (e.g. temperature, seasonal storms), numerous other studies have shown mortality risk in corals to be strongly related to colony size, with smaller corals tending to be more vulnerable (Babcock 1991;Smith and Hughes 1999;Raymundo and Maypa 2004;Vermeij and Sandin 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the circle: is it feasible to rehabilitate reefs with sexually propagated corals?

et al. 2013

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Sexual propagation of corals specifically for reef rehabilitation remains largely experimental. In this study, we refined low technology culture and transplantation approaches and assessed the role of colony size and age, at time of transfer from nursery to reef, on subsequent survival. Larvae from Acropora millepora were reared from gametes and settled on engineered substrates, called coral plug-ins, that were designed to simplify transplantation to areas of degraded reef. Plug-ins, with laboratory spawned and settled coral recruits attached, were maintained in nurseries until they were at least 7 months old before being transplanted to replicate coral limestone outcrops within a marine protected area until they were 31 months old. Survival rates of transplanted corals that remained at the protected in situ nursery the longest were 3.9-5.6 times higher than corals transplanted to the reef earlier, demonstrating that an intermediate ocean nursery stage is critical in the sexual propagation of corals for reef rehabilitation. 3 years post-settlement, colonies were reproductively mature, making this one of few published studies to date to rear a broadcasting scleractinian from eggs to spawning adults. While our data show that it is technically feasible to transplant sexually propagated corals and rear them until maturity, producing a single 2.5-year-old coral on the reef cost at least US$60. 'What if' scenarios indicate that the cost per transplantable coral could be reduced by almost 80 %, nevertheless, it is likely that the high cost per coral using sexual propagation methods would constrain delivery of new corals to relatively small scales in many countries with coral reefs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the circle: is it feasible to rehabilitate reefs with sexually propagated corals?

et al. 2013

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“…Few brittle stars smaller than 3 mm disc diameter were mature, but most large individuals had gonads. Size thresholds for sexual maturity are common in many organisms, including plants ( Bierzychudek 1984, Dupont & Kato 1999 and marine invertebrates (Karlson 1986, Mladenov & Emson 1988, Kapela & Lasker 1999, Smith & Hughes 1999). Females and males exhibited slight but significant differences in the sizes at which they reached maturity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tradeoffs between sexual reproduction and division may arise if resources for asexual reproduction must be diverted away from the production of gametes (Emson & Wilkie 1980) or if cloning results in the division of a single large individual into several small clonemates that are less likely to be able to sustain the energetic costs of sexual reproduction (e.g. Hughes & Jackson 1985, Karlson 1986, Smith & Hughes 1999. Trade-offs between sexual and asexual reproduction have been suggested in a variety of other clonal taxa (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of sexual and asexual reproduction in the brittle star Ophiactis savignyi in the Florida Keys

McGovern

2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Many plant and animal species reproduce both sexually and asexually. These 2 reproductive modes are both likely to be costly and, in many species, they occur at different times of the year. Here, I present information on the sexual and asexual reproductive biology of the brittle star Ophiactis savignyi (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) in the Florida Keys, USA. Small brittle stars (less than 3 mm) are almost always non-mature, and non-mature individuals are more likely to have recently undergone clonal division than mature brittle stars. Males appear to have a lower size threshold for sexual maturity than do females, but the sexes do not differ in the recency of clonal division. The greatest proportion of mature brittle stars was observed in the late summer through fall in all 3 years of the study. The incidence of asexual reproduction increases in the late fall through late winter. It therefore appears that brittle stars are more likely to split after the sexual reproductive season. The onset of cloning as the sexual reproductive season ends may result from differences in the time of year in which each mode confers the greatest fitness benefit or may arise from energetic trade-offs between the 2 modes of reproduction.

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“…It was apparent from the real-time PCR that this method was disruptive enough to induce herpes-like viral particle production albeit at a reduced level compared with the other stressors. However, naturally occurring damage to corals results from predation, weathering events like hurricanes and earthquakes, and human activities, such as the aquarium coral and ornamental fish trade, recreational diving, and research (53). Our experimental design may have inadvertently mimicked fragmentation and small scale predation on corals.…”

Section: Additional Evidence For Herpes-like Viruses In Corals and Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Metagenomic analysis indicates that stressors induce production of herpes-like viruses in the coral Porites compressa

Thurber

Barott²,

Hall³

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

196

231

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During the last several decades corals have been in decline and at least one-third of all coral species are now threatened with extinction. Coral disease has been a major contributor to this threat, but little is known about the responsible pathogens. To date most research has focused on bacterial and fungal diseases; however, viruses may also be important for coral health. Using a combination of empirical viral metagenomics and real-time PCR, we show that Porites compressa corals contain a suite of eukaryotic viruses, many related to the Herpesviridae. This coral-associated viral consortium was found to shift in response to abiotic stressors. In particular, when exposed to reduced pH, elevated nutrients, and thermal stress, the abundance of herpes-like viral sequences rapidly increased in 2 separate experiments. Herpes-like viral sequences were rarely detected in apparently healthy corals, but were abundant in a majority of stressed samples. In addition, surveys of the Nematostella and Hydra genomic projects demonstrate that even distantly related Cnidarians contain numerous herpes-like viral genes, likely as a result of latent or endogenous viral infection. These data support the hypotheses that corals experience viral infections, which are exacerbated by stress, and that herpes-like viruses are common in Cnidarians.coral reefs ͉ disease ͉ Herpesviridae ͉ viral-like particles ͉ virome

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An experimental assessment of survival, re-attachment and fecundity of coral fragments

Cited by 178 publications

References 26 publications

Closing the circle: is it feasible to rehabilitate reefs with sexually propagated corals?

Closing the circle: is it feasible to rehabilitate reefs with sexually propagated corals?

Patterns of sexual and asexual reproduction in the brittle star Ophiactis savignyi in the Florida Keys

Metagenomic analysis indicates that stressors induce production of herpes-like viruses in the coral Porites compressa

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