Abstract

Three years ago Oceanus and its partners started a Reef Restoration Program focused on strengthening resilience and the adaptation potential of coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean. The Program involves the transplant of thousands of colonies every year and identification of genetic material from healthy donor populations to increase diversity in restoration sites, thereby promoting natural resilience and resistance to climate change and local stressors. To date it have started efforts in a total of 17 restoration sites. After this time, sites are starting to show visible changes of recovery. Monitoring of transplants has indicated success in survival and growth, which will mean sexual maturity in a short time and subsequent sexual reproduction. Results from initial monitoring in 2017 have shown, that on average, 80% of the transplanted colonies from previous years have survived for more than two years in the restoration sites. Due to the continuous input of new colonies (small sizes), cover of living tissue in each colony ranges from 1.5 cm2 to 86 cm2 with an average of 17cm2. According to some authors, size can be an indicator of sexual maturity. In sizes starting from 60 cm2 of living tissue, colonies are in the first stages of sexual maturity, with 7% of the colony already able to reproduce. According to field results to date, at least 10% of the total of colonies already transplanted, at least in Xcalak, are in this stage. After achieving that size, every additional year of growth, the proportion of the colony that spawns will increase according to maturity. Sexual reproduction of transplanted colonies is the ultimate goal, as it will start the multipli-er effect of restoration, sending hundreds or thousands of genetically diverse larvae and recruits to new sites on the reef.

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