Historic coral disturbance versus current coral restoration: insights from Palmyra Atoll.
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| Title: | Historic coral disturbance versus current coral restoration: insights from Palmyra Atoll. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Clements, Cody S.1 (AUTHOR) cclements9@gatech.edu, Altman-Kurosaki, Noam T.2 (AUTHOR), Pollock, F. Joseph3,4 (AUTHOR), Hay, Mark E.1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Coral Reefs. Apr2026, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p635-648. 14p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Coral reef restoration, *Corals, *Coral reef conservation, *Coral reefs & islands, *Predation |
| Geographic Terms: | Palmyra Atoll (Line Islands) |
| Abstract: | The utility of passive vs. active coral restoration continues to be debated as reefs decline worldwide. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of coral transplantation into the degraded East and Center lagoons of Palmyra Atoll. Corals have failed to recover in these sites over the eight decades since disturbances associated with World War II, despite high coral cover elsewhere around the atoll that could theoretically provide source propagules. We explicitly compared (i) species beginning to recolonize the lagoons with species common elsewhere at Palmyra, (ii) performance between the East and Center lagoons, and (iii) coral growth at sites near vs. far from causeway inlets as a proxy for the benefits of flow. We found that six common coral species were all physiologically capable of growing in the lagoon, but there were: i) large among-species difference in survival, ii) less, but still significant, differences in growth among species, and iii) localized differences in growth and survival across the eight test locations. Many of these differences appeared to be driven by patterns in fish predation on corals. Survival was greatest for Porites and Pavona species, neither of which have substantially colonized the lagoons. Their superior performance relative to Acropora and Pocillopora species that have begun to recolonize the East Lagoon suggests that transplantation of hardier Porites and Pavona species may accelerate recovery. Coral reef restoration efforts often focus on more threatened and fragile corals like Acropora and Pocillopora. Prioritizing the initial planting of hardier corals like Porites and Pavona may help establish foundational reef functions before introducing more fragile species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Database: | Energy & Power Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: enr DbLabel: Energy & Power Source An: 192725869 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Historic coral disturbance versus current coral restoration: insights from Palmyra Atoll. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Clements%2C+Cody+S%2E%22">Clements, Cody S.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> cclements9@gatech.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Altman-Kurosaki%2C+Noam+T%2E%22">Altman-Kurosaki, Noam T.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pollock%2C+F%2E+Joseph%22">Pollock, F. Joseph</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hay%2C+Mark+E%2E%22">Hay, Mark E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Coral+Reefs%22">Coral Reefs</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p635-648. 14p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coral+reef+restoration%22">Coral reef restoration</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Corals%22">Corals</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coral+reef+conservation%22">Coral reef conservation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coral+reefs+%26+islands%22">Coral reefs & islands</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Predation%22">Predation</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Palmyra+Atoll+%28Line+Islands%29%22">Palmyra Atoll (Line Islands)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The utility of passive vs. active coral restoration continues to be debated as reefs decline worldwide. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of coral transplantation into the degraded East and Center lagoons of Palmyra Atoll. Corals have failed to recover in these sites over the eight decades since disturbances associated with World War II, despite high coral cover elsewhere around the atoll that could theoretically provide source propagules. We explicitly compared (i) species beginning to recolonize the lagoons with species common elsewhere at Palmyra, (ii) performance between the East and Center lagoons, and (iii) coral growth at sites near vs. far from causeway inlets as a proxy for the benefits of flow. We found that six common coral species were all physiologically capable of growing in the lagoon, but there were: i) large among-species difference in survival, ii) less, but still significant, differences in growth among species, and iii) localized differences in growth and survival across the eight test locations. Many of these differences appeared to be driven by patterns in fish predation on corals. Survival was greatest for Porites and Pavona species, neither of which have substantially colonized the lagoons. Their superior performance relative to Acropora and Pocillopora species that have begun to recolonize the East Lagoon suggests that transplantation of hardier Porites and Pavona species may accelerate recovery. Coral reef restoration efforts often focus on more threatened and fragile corals like Acropora and Pocillopora. Prioritizing the initial planting of hardier corals like Porites and Pavona may help establish foundational reef functions before introducing more fragile species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s00338-025-02784-w Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 635 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Coral reef restoration Type: general – SubjectFull: Corals Type: general – SubjectFull: Coral reef conservation Type: general – SubjectFull: Coral reefs & islands Type: general – SubjectFull: Predation Type: general – SubjectFull: Palmyra Atoll (Line Islands) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Historic coral disturbance versus current coral restoration: insights from Palmyra Atoll. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Clements, Cody S. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Altman-Kurosaki, Noam T. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pollock, F. Joseph – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hay, Mark E. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 07224028 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 45 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Coral Reefs Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
