Enhancing survivorship and growth of juvenile Montipora capitata using the Hawaiian collector urchin Tripneustes gratilla

PeerJ. 2023 Sep 27:11:e16113. doi: 10.7717/peerj.16113. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

The biodiversity of coral reef habitats is rapidly declining due to the effects of anthropogenic climate change, prompting the use of active restoration as a mitigation strategy. Sexual propagation can maintain or enhance genetic diversity in restoration of these ecosystems, but these approaches suffer from a range of inefficiencies in rearing and husbandry. Algal overgrowth of juveniles is a major bottleneck in the production of sexually propagated corals that may be alleviated by co-culture with herbivores. We reared juvenile Montipora capitata alongside juvenile native Hawaiian collector urchins, Tripneustes gratilla, for 15 weeks and documented significant ecological benefits of co-culture. Urchin treatments significantly increased the survivorship of coral aggregates (14%) and individual settlers (24%). We also documented a significant increase in coral growth in the presence of urchins. These results demonstrate the utility of microherbivory in promoting coral growth and survivorship in ex situ conditions, providing valuable insight for restoration pipelines of native Hawaiian coral species.

Keywords: Aquaculture; Coral; Hawai‘i; Juvenile; Microherbivory; Montipora capitata; Sexual reproduction; Tripneustes gratilla; Urchin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthozoa*
  • Coral Reefs
  • Ecosystem*
  • Hawaii
  • Sea Urchins
  • Survivorship

Supplementary concepts

  • Echinacea, sea urchins

Grants and funding

Joshua Hancock, Andrew Barrows, Spencer Miller, Carlo Caruso and Crawford Drury are funded by the Paul G Allen Family foundation and a grant/cooperative agreement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Project R/SS-34, which is sponsored by the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, SOEST, under Institutional Grant No. NA22OAR4170108, from NOAA Office of Sea Grant, Department of Commerce. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies. UNIHI-SEAGRANT-JC-22-15. David Cohen, Patrick Gorong, Matthew Lewis, Sean Louie, Lani Musselman and the DAR PCSU Sea Urchin Hatchery Project are supported by funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the State of Hawai‘i Department of Transportation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.