Abstract

Coral reefs are one of the world’s most diverse and productive ecosystems, yet they are also one of the most threatened. Economically important coral reefs in the Florida Keys, like those elsewhere in the Caribbean, have become substantially degraded over recent decades due to numerous stressors that include overfishing, pollution, sedimentation, eutrophication, habitat modification, and disease. Staghorn (Acropora cervicornis) and Elkhorn (Acropora palmata) corals have undergone widespread declines, particularly in the Florida Keys. These species are vital for the accretion of new reef, which provides structural habitat for a variety of fishes and invertebrates and the re-establishment of these species is widely viewed as the first step in proactive attempts to restore Florida’s reefs. Coral restoration projects have been established to facilitate the recovery of the coral populations throughout the Florida Keys. These projects have focused on propagating coral colonies and restoring the physical reef structure without addressing critical ecological processes such as herbivory, predation, and recruitment etc. (Hunt & Sharp 2014). To optimize the survival of out-planted corals, it is necessary to identify the optimal ecological conditions and habitats for coral survival. It is also imperative to assess the impact of these ecological factors on the out-planted corals and wild coral populations near restoration sites. Restoration efforts targeted at specific reefs will be most successful under strong management of the wider seascape that limits chronic sources of coral mortality and protects key functional groups such as herbivorous fishes (Adam et al. 2015). Herbivorous fishes are widely recognized as one of the important forces structuring benthic communities in coral reefs (Bellwood et al. 2004, Mumby et al. 2007, Hughes et al. 2007, Bonaldo et al. 2014). These fishes play vital roles on coral reefs by controlling algal growth, thus creating favorable conditions for coral settlement, recruitment and growth. Our study examined abundance patterns and size distributions of herbivore fishes at two restoration sites in the Florida Keys.