Growth and survival among Hawaiian corals outplanted from tanks to an ocean nursery are driven by individual genotype and species differences rather than preconditioning to thermal stress.

ABSTRACT: The drastic decline in coral coverage has stimulated an interest in reef restoration, and various iterations of coral nurseries have been used to augment restoration strategies. Here we examine the growth of two species of Hawaiian Montipora that were maintained in mesocosms under either ambient or warmed annual bleaching conditions for two consecutive years prior to outplanting to determine whether preconditioning aided coral restoration efforts. Using coral trees to create a nearby ocean nursery, we examined whether: (1) previous ex situ mesocosm growth would mirror in situ coral tree nursery growth; and (2) thermal ex situ stress-hardening would predict future success during natural warming events in situ for corals moved from tanks to trees. For Mo

SUBMITTER: Henley EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8957268 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature