CAN GENOMIC AND ALGAL SYMBIONT DATA PREDICT CORAL RESTORATION SUCCESS? CORAL AND ALGAL SYMBIONT SEQUENCING IN A MULTI-SPECIES SOUTH FLORIDA CORAL RESTORATION EXPERIMENT

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) emerged in 2014 and has since spread across Florida’s Coral Reef (FCR) and the Caribbean. This thesis is part of a larger project assessing the efficacy of restoring SCTLD-susceptible corals Montastraea cavernosa, Orbicella faveolata, and Pseudodiploria clivosa in SCTLD endemic areas. As part of Florida’s largest coral restoration experiment to date, 1,152 cement bases with 5,760 coral fragments from 99 source colonies were outplanted across six regions throughout FCR and monitored monthly over two years for survival, disease, and growth. Before outplanting, coral tissue samples were collected for high-resolution 2bRAD and ITS2 sequencing to genotype the corals and characterize their initial algal symbiont communities. Neither host genetic lineages nor algal symbiont types significantly affected SCTLD susceptibility or survival, negating the hypothesis of SCTLD-resistant “super coral” lineages. Results from this study will inform the feasibility and design of future coral restoration efforts in SCTLD endemic zones to maintain or enhance coral biodiversity.