Optimizing Settlement and Grow-out of Two Caribbean Bouldering Corals
Location
OC Auditorium
Start
4-2-2026 2:45 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral Presentation
Abstract
To outpace reef degradation, the culture protocols for ex situ sexual propagation of corals for reef restoration need to be further optimized. The major bottlenecks are low larval settlement, post-settlement mortality, and reduced growth. This study assessed how substrate color resembling crustose coralline algae enhances larval settlement success and whether grow-out orientation affects post-settlement survival and growth of two Caribbean corals, Colpophyllia natans and Pseudodiploria strigosa. Coral larvae were settled in white-only, pink-only, or mixed color-schemed tiles in three replicate tanks. After settlement, corals on pink and white tiles were reared horizontally or diagonally over two months. The larvae of C. natans did not show a settlement preference among color schemes, whereas P. strigosa larvae settled more on pink-only (27.6%) and white-only (32.8%) tiles than on the mixed color scheme (22.5%). Corals grown diagonally had a 5-fold (P. strigosa) and 4-fold (C. natans) higher survival than corals grown horizontally. Coral tissue area on pink tiles was 2-fold (P. strigosa) and 3.8-fold (C. natans) greater than on white tiles. This suggests that the combination of pink tiles and a diagonal grow-out orientation can further optimize the ex situ sexual propagation of corals.
Optimizing Settlement and Grow-out of Two Caribbean Bouldering Corals
OC Auditorium
To outpace reef degradation, the culture protocols for ex situ sexual propagation of corals for reef restoration need to be further optimized. The major bottlenecks are low larval settlement, post-settlement mortality, and reduced growth. This study assessed how substrate color resembling crustose coralline algae enhances larval settlement success and whether grow-out orientation affects post-settlement survival and growth of two Caribbean corals, Colpophyllia natans and Pseudodiploria strigosa. Coral larvae were settled in white-only, pink-only, or mixed color-schemed tiles in three replicate tanks. After settlement, corals on pink and white tiles were reared horizontally or diagonally over two months. The larvae of C. natans did not show a settlement preference among color schemes, whereas P. strigosa larvae settled more on pink-only (27.6%) and white-only (32.8%) tiles than on the mixed color scheme (22.5%). Corals grown diagonally had a 5-fold (P. strigosa) and 4-fold (C. natans) higher survival than corals grown horizontally. Coral tissue area on pink tiles was 2-fold (P. strigosa) and 3.8-fold (C. natans) greater than on white tiles. This suggests that the combination of pink tiles and a diagonal grow-out orientation can further optimize the ex situ sexual propagation of corals.