Abstract

Shallow water coral reefs are declining at an alarming rate because of anthropogenic heating. The declines of warm water tropical reefs has prompted action for active restoration efforts involving thermotolerant coral genotypes. However, an essential aspect of coral reefs for their ecosystem function and health is the fish community that resides upon them. But how are reef fish communities influenced by restoration efforts? As part of our development of thermotolerant coral genotypes for our coral nursery located in the isolated and well protected reefs of Little Cayman, we conducted reef fish surveys around four coral out planting sites. These surveys occurred before out-planting, five days after, with the final survey occurring three months after out-planting. From these surveys, we expect to see changes in fish species richness, abundance, and biomass based on the survivability and growth of coral fragments. We also expect differences in fish composition between the control and out planting sites. Findings from this study could highlight the potential role restoration has on reef fish communities over a three-month period since out-planting. Further, if fish are associated with differential survival and growth of coral genotypes, it could influence restoration techniques moving forward. Ultimately reef fish communities are reliant on habitat complexity driven by corals on tropical reefs for shelter and provision of resources, therefore we expect restoration will likely be beneficial for reef fish in Little Cayman.