11th ICRS Abstract book - Nova Southeastern University

24.1067
Growth Of Newly Settled Reef Corals At The Mpa Corals’ Coast-Northeastern
Brazil.
Barbara PINHEIRO* 1 , Mauro MAIDA* 2
1 Oceanografia, UFPE, Recife, Brazil, 2 Oceanografia, UFPE, Recife -PE, Brazil
Studies related to the settlement and recruitment of corals has been of great importance
for the understanding and elucidation of the diverse operating factors that contribute for
the initial structure of a reef community. This study was carried out at the biggest marine
protected area in Brazil created to preserve the coastal coral reefs, one of the most
threatened ecosystems in this country. We aimed, through the use of artificial substratum
confectioned with ceramics tiles vertically guided, to determine the patterns of
settlement, mortality rate and growth of corals recruits on the Ilha da Barra reef (a No-
Take zone at this MPA). The plates were distributed around one of the Ilha da Barra’s
pools in August of 2004. Monthly, through out the year of 2005, and in January of 2006,
tiles were collected and analyzed in laboratory. The presence of newly settle corals, was
investigated as well as theirs growth, position and survival. These plates were kept in
tanks with proper aeration and constant circulation during analysis and subsequently
returned to the sea. The coral settlement apparently was dominated by brooder species
and occurred preferentially during the summer, and was found a density of 12.2
recruit/m2. The absence of edge effect confirmed that inclination and positioning of the
plates provided good light intensity distribution. It was observed a mean growth rate of
11.27(4.30SD) mm and 20.42(8.97SD) mm in diameter for Siderastrea stellata and Favia
gravida respectively, both Brazilian endemic coral species. The difference between
growth rates was attributed to the taxonomic variation of these species. This was the first
study to examine the growth rate of newly settle corals in Brazil
24.1068
Differential Post-Recruitment Survival Of Corals On Neighboring Artificial And
Natural Reefs: Implications For Reef Restoration
Shimrit PERKOL-FINKEL* 1 , Yehuda BENAYAHU 1
1 Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Understanding the processes that shape artificial reef (AR) communities is critical if these
are to be used for reef restoration purposes. A study of the post-recruitment survival of
coral colonies transplanted onto a mature AR and its adjacent natural reef (NR) was
carried out in Eilat (Red Sea) in order to test the hypothesis that differences in benthic
communities between adjacent ARs and NRs are derived from differential survival
processes. Transplanted miniature coral colonies were monitored in situ on both reef
types. It was found that the survival of miniature colonies of the soft coral
Dendronephthya hemprichi on a 10-year-old AR was nearly double that of those
transplanted onto the NR. Similarly, survival of nubbins of the stony coral Pocillopora
damicornis on the AR was over three-fold greater than on the NR. We suggest that the
observed differential survival resulted from the unique suites of environmental conditions
at the two habitats, mainly in terms of sedimentation load and current velocities. The
suggest that in order to construct an AR for restoration purposes, it must offer similar
environmental conditions to those offered by the natural surrounding in order to avoid
differential post-recruitment survival.
Poster Mini-Symposium 24: Reef Restoration
24.1069
Settlement Behavior Of acropora Palmata Planulae: Effects Of Biofilm Age And
Crustose Coralline Algal Cover
Patrick ERWIN* 1 , Alina SZMANT 1
1 Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC
The impacts of persistent declines in coral cover may be compounded by concomitant
reductions in coral recruitment to areas of high coral mortality. Understanding the factors that
influence planula behavior and settlement choice are integral steps to reef preservation and
restoration. Both crustose coralline algae (CCA) and microbial biofilms have been shown to
play a role in coral larval settlement. A time series experiment was conducted by preconditioning
ceramic tiles in reef waters for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 weeks and determining
settlement rates of Acropora palmata at each time point. Following settlement assays, digital
photographs were taken of each tile to quantify CCA cover. Tile surfaces were then swabbed to
sample microbial biofilms for genetic characterization. Larvae of A. palmata clearly preferred
to settle on the underside of tiles as conditioned in the field (78%), compared to tile tops (8%)
or Petri dish surface (14%),. Larvae showed no preference for surface texture. Larval
settlement rates varied significantly among time treatments (ANOVA, p