Mission: Iconic Reefs is a bold and broad endeavor that has been embarked upon by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a suite of partners. The mission goes beyond large-scale outplanting of cultured stony corals to include community stewardship, long-term maintenance and monitoring of restored areas, and incorporation of algae-grazing species. Overgrowth by macroalgae is a primary factor in reduced growth and recruitment of stony corals in the Florida Keys.
Prior to a Caribbean-wide die-off in the early 1980s, the long spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum played an important ecological role in consuming large amounts of macroalgae and maintaining Florida Keys reefs in a state favoring stony corals. Other urchin and mobile invertebrate species (e.g. Maguimithrax spinosissimus crabs) are also of interest in Mission: Iconic Reefs as algae-grazers. Part of the mission is to develop and implement the capacity to aquaculture algae-grazing species at scale for population augmentation on targeted reefs.
This presentation will detail progress to date with regards to development of scaled aquaculture technology for Diadema antillarum and other urchin species of interest. Pilot-scale restocking events and ancillary benefits of aquaculture for these species will also be discussed.