Large numbers of corals are being outplanted onto Florida’s Coral Reef, but many are lost to corallivorous fish soon after they are planted. My research quantifies where, when, and how strongly fish predation affects outplanted corals, so that restoration practitioners can plan around it.
- Coral-Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (C-BRUVS). Documenting fish corallivory on restored corals in Florida with underwater video.
- A predation pressure index. Co-PI on a Florida Department of Environmental Protection meta-analysis integrating field data to quantify corallivorous fish impacts on outplant success through a spatiotemporal predation pressure index. Read the final report
- Predictive tools and experimental validation. As PI on a follow-up DEP project, I am integrating predation data into predictive tools and testing them in the field.
Coral-Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (C-BRUVS)
A C-BRUVS camera recording outplanted corals at Oasis (Deployment 4)
Deployment 1: Porites astreoides outplants at CCC
Deployment 2: Paradise Nursery
Deployment 3: Pseudodiploria strigosa outplants before cage removal
Deployment 4: P. astreoides outplant PAST03 at Oasis, initial
The same outplant after 4 days
Deployment 5: Paradise
A parrotfish visiting P. astreoides outplants at CCC