STATUS OF LAND-BASED CULTURE EFFORTS TO SUPPORT SEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN THREATENED CARIBBEAN CORALS

Joshua Patterson*, Kathryn Lohr, Rachel Serafin, and Keri O'Neil
 
 University of Florida - School of Forest Resources and Conservation
 The Florida Aquarium - Center for Conservation
 Apollo Beach, FL 33572
 joshpatterson@ufl.edu

Seven Caribbean coral species are currently listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. A major priority for recovery is mitigating threats to these corals such as disease, land-based pollution, ocean acidification, and increased ocean temperatures leading to more frequent bleaching. The past five years have seen rapid development of aquaculture as a complimentary tool to produce coral biomass and increase genetic diversity while regional and global threats are concurrently addressed. Ocean-based coral nurseries now generate tremendous coral biomass for reef restoration through asexual propagation. However, to meet genetic diversity goals, it will also be important to develop reliable techniques for sexual reproduction. Numerous groups are currently engaged in such efforts.

For the past several years the Florida Aquarium has been leading one such effort in partnership with the Coral Restoration Foundation and the University of Florida, among others. Coral larvae collected from the 2017 spawns of Orbicella faveolata (Fig. 1), Acropora cervicornis, and A. palmata were settled ex-situ at the Center for Conservation in Apollo Beach, Florida. Nine-week post-settlement survival rates for the three species range from 69-71% and are the highest achieved at this facility to date. This talk will provide details of current techniques and lessons learned over the years for ex-situ sexual propagation of these species.