Wild and nursery-raised corals: comparative physiology of two framework coral species

• Published in: Coral reefs Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 299 - 310
• Main Authors: Gantt, Shelby E., Keister, Elise F., Manfroy, Alicia A., Merck, Dakotah E., Fitt, William K., Muller, Erinn M., Kemp, Dustin W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-04-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acclimation; Algae; Biology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Body condition; Colour; Conservation; Conspecifics; Coral reefs; Corals; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Life Sciences; Light effects; Marine invertebrates; Metabolism; Nurseries; Nursery grounds; Oceanography; Physiology; Pigmentation; Population decline; Populations; Reefs; Restoration; Symbionts; Restoration; Symbiodiniaceae; Acclimation
• ISSN: 0722-4028; 1432-0975
• DOI: 10.1007/s00338-022-02333-9

Worldwide decline in coral populations has led to the development of numerous coral conservation and restoration groups. These groups have established successful methods for propagating and growing corals in nurseries for outplanting to degraded reefs. However, the environment within land-based nurseries differs from natural reef environments since nursery conditions are optimized to aid coral health and accelerate growth. This study compares the physiological condition of Mote Marine Laboratory’s land-based nursery corals to over two decades of coral physiology data collected seasonally from wild conspecific populations of the Florida Keys. Coral metabolism metrics suggest that nursery corals are similar to wild conspecifics. Despite this, coral biomass and symbiotic algae pigmentation suggest that Mote’s land-based nursery corals are acclimated to low light, and maintain different Symbiodiniaceae populations compared to wild conspecifics. Our findings elucidate how the biology and physiology of corals raised in land-based nurseries are different from wild coral populations and indicate nursery corals likely incur substantial photoacclimation processes during outplanting. These insights provide a physiological framework for coral conservation and management efforts that can be used when considering the condition of nursery-raised corals before outplanting to a reef.