IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0087545.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Corals Like It Waxed: Paraffin-Based Antifouling Technology Enhances Coral Spat Survival

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Tebben
  • James R Guest
  • Tsai M Sin
  • Peter D Steinberg
  • Tilmann Harder

Abstract

The early post-settlement stage is the most sensitive during the life history of reef building corals. However, few studies have examined the factors that influence coral mortality during this period. Here, the impact of fouling on the survival of newly settled coral spat of Acropora millepora was investigated by manipulating the extent of fouling cover on settlement tiles using non-toxic, wax antifouling coatings. Survival of spat on coated tiles was double that on control tiles. Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation between percentage cover of fouling and spat survival across all tiles types, suggesting that fouling in direct proximity to settled corals has detrimental effects on early post-settlement survival. While previous studies have shown that increased fouling negatively affects coral larval settlement and health of juvenile and adult corals, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show a direct relationship between fouling and early post-settlement survival for a broadcast spawning scleractinian coral. The negative effects of fouling on this sensitive life history stage may become more pronounced in the future as coastal eutrophication increases. Our results further suggest that targeted seeding of coral spat on artificial surfaces in combination with fouling control could prove useful to improve the efficiency of sexual reproduction-based coral propagation for reef rehabilitation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Tebben & James R Guest & Tsai M Sin & Peter D Steinberg & Tilmann Harder, 2014. "Corals Like It Waxed: Paraffin-Based Antifouling Technology Enhances Coral Spat Survival," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-8, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0087545
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087545
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0087545
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0087545&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0087545?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. D. R. Bellwood & T. P. Hughes & C. Folke & M. Nyström, 2004. "Confronting the coral reef crisis," Nature, Nature, vol. 429(6994), pages 827-833, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu-Rong Cheng & Chi-Hsiang Chin & Ding-Fa Lin & Chao-Kang Wang, 2020. "The Probability of an Unrecoverable Coral Community in Dongsha Atoll Marine National Park Due to Recurrent Disturbances," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Christine Bergman & Rochelle Good & Andrew Moreo, 2022. "Influencing Hotel Patrons to Use Reef-Safe Sunscreen," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Matthew J. Powell-Palm & E. Michael Henley & Anthony N. Consiglio & Claire Lager & Brooke Chang & Riley Perry & Kendall Fitzgerald & Jonathan Daly & Boris Rubinsky & Mary Hagedorn, 2023. "Cryopreservation and revival of Hawaiian stony corals using isochoric vitrification," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Brathwaite, Angelique & Pascal, Nicolas & Clua, Eric, 2021. "When are payment for ecosystems services suitable for coral reef derived coastal protection?: A review of scientific requirements," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    5. Muko, Soyoka & Arakaki, Seiji & Tamai, Reiko & Sakai, Kazuhiko, 2014. "An individual-based model for population viability analysis of the brooding coral Seriatopora hystrix," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 277(C), pages 68-76.
    6. Alexandre C. Siqueira & Wolfgang Kiessling & David R. Bellwood, 2022. "Fast-growing species shape the evolution of reef corals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Meixia Zhao & Haiyang Zhang & Yu Zhong & Dapeng Jiang & Guohui Liu & Hongqiang Yan & Hongyu Zhang & Pu Guo & Cuitian Li & Hongqiang Yang & Tegu Chen & Rui Wang, 2019. "The Status of Coral Reefs and Its Importance for Coastal Protection: A Case Study of Northeastern Hainan Island, South China Sea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-13, August.
    8. Juan Shi & Chunhou Li & Teng Wang & Jinfa Zhao & Yong Liu & Yayuan Xiao, 2022. "Distribution Pattern of Coral Reef Fishes in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Luxton, Sarah & Smith, Greg & Williams, Kristen & Ferrier, Simon & Bond, Anthelia & Prober, Suzanne, 2023. "An introduction to financial opportunities, ecological concepts, and risks underpinning aspirations for a nature-positive economy," OSF Preprints cu8rj_v1, Center for Open Science.
    10. Alva-Basurto, Jorge Christian & Arias-González, Jesús Ernesto, 2014. "Modelling the effects of climate change on a Caribbean coral reef food web," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 289(C), pages 1-14.
    11. Aart Zeeuw & Chuan-Zhong Li, 2016. "The Economics of Tipping Points," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 65(3), pages 513-517, November.
    12. Shinichiro Kakuma, 2022. "Satoumi Systems Promoting Integrated Coastal Resources Management: An Empirical Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-21, September.
    13. Shankar Aswani & Ingrid Putten & Sara Miñarro, 2017. "Environmental and social recovery asymmetries to large-scale disturbances in small island communities," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 86(1), pages 241-262, March.
    14. Dercole, Fabio & Della Rossa, Fabio, 2017. "A deterministic eco-genetic model for the short-term evolution of exploited fish stocks," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 343(C), pages 80-100.
    15. Carissa J Klein & Natalie C Ban & Benjamin S Halpern & Maria Beger & Edward T Game & Hedley S Grantham & Alison Green & Travis J Klein & Stuart Kininmonth & Eric Treml & Kerrie Wilson & Hugh P Possing, 2010. "Prioritizing Land and Sea Conservation Investments to Protect Coral Reefs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(8), pages 1-8, August.
    16. Buckwell, Andrew & Fleming, Christopher & Smart, James & Mackey, Brendan & Ware, Daniel & Hallgren, Willow & Sahin, Oz & Nalau, Johanna, 2018. "Valuing aggregated ecosystem services at a national and regional scale for Vanuatu using a remotely operable, rapid assessment methodology," 2018 Conference (62nd), February 7-9, 2018, Adelaide, Australia 273524, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
    17. Olivia Odom Green & Ahjond S. Garmestani & Matthew E. Hopton & Matthew T. Heberling, 2014. "A Multi-Scalar Examination of Law for Sustainable Ecosystems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-18, May.
    18. Julie Vercelloni & M Julian Caley & Mohsen Kayal & Samantha Low-Choy & Kerrie Mengersen, 2014. "Understanding Uncertainties in Non-Linear Population Trajectories: A Bayesian Semi-Parametric Hierarchical Approach to Large-Scale Surveys of Coral Cover," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-9, November.
    19. Cody S. Clements & Zoe A. Pratte & Frank J. Stewart & Mark E. Hay, 2024. "Removal of detritivore sea cucumbers from reefs increases coral disease," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    20. Wynveen, Christopher J. & Sutton, Stephen G., 2015. "Engaging the public in climate change-related pro-environmental behaviors to protect coral reefs: The role of public trust in the management agency," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 131-140.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0087545. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.