Insights on the impacts of coral restoration: How planting corals affects the entire ecosystem; Dr Gretchen Goodbody-Gringley
This year (2022) marks a decade of restoration research at CCMI. During this time, we have made significant strides toward improving our methods for rearing corals in the nursery as well as improving survival after planting corals back onto the reef. Initiation of our coral-dome project has shown an increase in long-term survival of out planted corals from 8% to 73% and has given important insights to site selection and out-planting strategies. Nearly two years after creating a series of coral-dome sites, we found an increase in fish density and diversity over time at reefs where corals were planted, suggesting that not only does restoration impact corals, but potentially the entire ecosystem.
Presented at the National Gallery of the Cayman Islands 24 February 2022