Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2024, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (3): 177-186.doi: 10.11978/2023086cstr: 32234.14.2023086

• Marine Biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on relocation effect of scleractinian coral in the Fenghuang Island, Sanya*

ZHANG Yuyang1,2,3(), LIU Chengyue1,2,3, YU Xiaolei1,2,3, LUO Yong1,2,3, ZHOU Tiancheng1,2,3,4, LIAN Jiansheng1,2,3, HUANG Hui1,2,3()   

  1. 1. CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
    2. CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research, Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Sanya Institute of Ocean Eco-Environmental Engineering, SCSIO, Sanya 572000, China
    3. Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China
    4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2023-06-26 Revised:2023-09-02 Online:2024-05-10 Published:2024-06-04
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFF0502804); National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFC3102002); Hainan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(9423MS130); National Natural Science Foundation of China(42276124); Guangzhou General Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research(202201010207)

Abstract:

Scleractinian corals are key functional organisms in the coral reef ecosystem, and are secondary protected wild animals in China. The decline of their population has attracted widespread attention, and the protection of scleractinian corals and the coral reef ecosystem has been gradually strengthened in recent years. Coastal projects threat the coral reefs nearby by causing serious impacts on scleractinian corals, and protective relocation of affected corals is needed to reduce the impacts of projects. In order to study the relocation method of corals in Hainan tropical waters and the effect of relocation protection, we relocated and monitored the scleractinian corals that were impacted by coastal project. A total of 16, 634 corals were relocated, including 18 genera of coral specie. 6, 210 corals were relocated to the Luhuitou Reef, and 10, 424 corals were relocated to the West Island Reef. The transplantation methods include nail transplantation, small artificial reef transplantation and direct placement. After 8 months of relocation, the coral survival rate was above 80% in both the Luhuitou reef and West Island, except the direct placement of coral individuals in the West Island decreased to 76%. Combining each relocation method with the number of corals in the transplantation site, the total survival rate of relocated corals after 8 months of relocation was 86.24%. The results of the two surveys showed that the nail transplantation method had the highest survival rate, and the small artificial reef transplantation and direct placement had slightly lower survival rates. The corals relocated to West Island grew an average of 3.03 cm in 8 months, with a growth rate of 23.31%, while the corals relocated to Luhuitou grew 6.15 cm in average, with a growth rate of 58.74%, which is higher than that of the West Island corals. Eight months after relocation, the survival rates of the three transplantation methods were all above 75%, indicating that the corals are well adapted to the environment of the relocated areas. From the above results, the effect of this coral relocation achieved the purpose of protecting the scleractinian corals affected by coastal project, which can provide important experience for the future coral conservation.

Key words: scleractinian coral, coral reef conservation, coral relocation, Sanya coral reef, Fenghuang Island