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Enhancing coral larval supply and seedling production using a special bundle collection system “coral larval cradle” for large‐scale coral restoration
Author(s) -
Suzuki Go,
Okada Wataru,
Yasutake Yoko,
Yamamoto Hidekazu,
Tanita Iwao,
Yamashita Hiroshi,
Hayashibara Takeshi,
Komatsu Toshiaki,
Kanyama Toru,
Inoue Masahito,
Yamazaki Masashi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
restoration ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1526-100X
pISSN - 1061-2971
DOI - 10.1111/rec.13178
Subject(s) - coral , acropora , larva , biology , reef , coral reef , fishery , ecology
Larval recruitment is essential for sustaining coral communities and a fundamental tool in some interventions for reef restoration. To improve larval supply and post‐settlement survival in sexually assisted coral restoration efforts, an integrated in situ collector system, the larval cradle, was designed to collect spawned gametes then culture the resulting larvae until settled on artificial substrates. The final design of the larval cradle was cylindrical, a nylon mesh structure with a volume of 9 m 3 , suspended in the sea and extending vertically toward the seabed. We found three key design features that improved the efficiency of the apparatus: (1) an open area of sea surface and mesh size of less than 100 μm produced high fertilization and optimal survival (>90%), (2) a special skirt‐shaped net (3 m in diameter) with a connection hose for attaching the cradle to collect bundles from many adult colonies over a wide area and at various depths, and (3) adding short square tube pieces, called square hollow sections, as a substrate for enhancing larval settlement and survival, to a larval cradle at 4 days after spawning was optimal for uniform settlement. This system allowed not only the collection of several million eggs, but also subsequent production of several thousand settled juvenile corals, without land facilities. Our design achieved several hundred times higher survival for early life stages of Acropora tenuis compared to nature.