ASSESSING CORAL RESTORATION FEASIBILITY IN THE FACE OF STONY CORAL TISSUE LOSS DISEASE ON FLORIDA’S CORAL REEF

Since the emergence of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) in 2014, 60% of live coral cover on Florida’s coral reefs have been lost. This study assessed the efficacy of outplanting microfragment colony arrays of three SCTLD-susceptible coral species (Montastraea cavernosa, Orbicella faveolata, and Pseudodiploria clivosa) as remediation technique in two SCTLD-degraded reef areas, St. Lucie Reef and Palm Beach, in southeast Florida. After approximately 2 years, outplanted colonies at both reefs experienced ≥ 75 % survivorship, net positive growth rates, and fragment fusion, with some variation between species and across reefs. Additionally, outplanting SCTLD-susceptible species did not increase local disease prevalence and resulted in low disease prevalence on the outplanted colonies. The results from this study will be used to inform and optimize ongoing and future outplanting based coral restoration projects throughout Florida’s coral reefs and the wider Caribbean.