In 1997, the M/V Fortuna Reefer grounded on Mona Island, Puerto Rico, damaging 6.8 acres (0.03 km2) of shallow Acropora-dominated fore-reef habitat. Within 2 months, restoration experts stabilized 1,857 A. palmata coral fragments, using stainless steel wire to secure fragments to the reef substrate and dead standing elkhorn coral skeletons. This site has been monitored once or twice per year since the completion of the restoration to assess:
- Whether the use of wire is effective at securing corals over the long term;
- Determine rates of survival and growth of corals;
- To evaluate differences in substrates used to attach corals; and
- To evaluate causes of mortality.
Six years after the restoration, 20.3 percent (377) of the restored fragments were living. Most live fragments were cemented to the reef and produced new branches, forming small colonies that provide considerable structural relief. Reef fish communities have begun to shift from a dominance of roving herbivores to a more complex community associated with an increase in groupers and snappers.
Given the large declines that Acropora populations have sustained from disease, hurricanes, and other impacts, this restoration effort demonstrates that reattaching Acropora fragments may be a viable restoration tool in cases where remaining Acropora habitat is damaged by ship groundings and hurricanes.
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