Karen Neely

Assessment and Restoration of the Pillar Coral Dendrogyra cylindrus on the Florida Reef Tract Final Report

2020

Nova Southeastern University

"The pillar coral Dendrogyra cylindrus is a taxonomically and structurally unique Caribbean coral listed as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List (Aronson et al. 2008) and Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act (USFWS 2014). The species is uncommon but conspicuous throughout its range, but population structure, stressors, and trajectories have been poorly studied. Baseline surveys of the Florida Reef Tract (FRT) population were initiated in 2013/2014. Surveys measured demographic parameters, genotyping was conducted in collaboration with the Baums lab (Penn State University), and long-term fate tracking was established to assess changes in health. From the baseline surveys through 2015, disease and consecutive hyperthermal bleaching events resulted in a precipitous population decline. As a result, a rescue project was initiated in late 2015 to bring fragments of colonies into land-based facilities and offshore nurseries to protect genetic diversity and promote growth of new material. Additionally, assisted reproduction during spawning events was initiated by collecting gametes from in situ as well as ex situ colonies for fertilization, larval rearing, and settlement of new genotypes. The initiation of this NOAA-CRCP grant in September 2018 set forward with the goals of: 1. Continuing to assess D. cylindrus colonies in the wild to monitor population status and impacts of stressors. 2. Continuing to collect fragments from wild colonies and distributing them among multiple nurseries for growout. 3. Collecting gametes during the 2019 spawning event to create new genotypes."

pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, stony coral tissue loss disease, coral bleaching, restoration, propagation, larval rearing, Florida Reef Tract

NOS

OCM

FY2020 CRCP Project ID 31209; Project Title: FY18 - Domestic Coral Reef Conservation Grants; Principal Investigator: Liz Fairey; Grant NA18NOS4820206.

NA18NOS4820206