Wave energy and other environmental drivers as predictors of seeded-coral performance on the great barrier reef
Jurriaans, Saskia, Lefèvre, Carine D., Allen, Katie, Giuliano, Christine, Page, Cathie A., Puotinen, Marji, Radford, Ben, Sims, Carrie A., Whitman, Taylor N., and Randall, Carly J. (2025) Wave energy and other environmental drivers as predictors of seeded-coral performance on the great barrier reef. Scientific Reports, 15 (1). 38335.
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Abstract
Wave energy shapes coral reef communities, yet its influence on early coral survival and growth remains poorly understood, limiting its use in reef restoration planning. This study investigated the survival and growth of three Acropora species deployed on seeding devices across a wave energy gradient at three reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. After 1.5-2 years, survival varied significantly within reefs, among sites, and among species, with highest average yield at Moore Reef (A. millepora, 32% after 554 days) followed by Davies Reef (A. hyacinthus, 24% after 527 days) and Heron Reef (A. hyacinthus: 13% and A. cf. kenti: 23% after 834 days). However, no single environmental variable, including nominal wave energy, bottom stress, flow velocity, sedimentation or benthic community composition consistently predicted survival, and effects weakened over time. Coral size and survival varied more at the device level than across sites, indicating the importance of fine-scale spatial and transient factors. These findings underscore the limitations of broad-scale environmental models to guide restoration and highlight the need for flexible, site-specific strategies. While seeding devices show promise as a scalable restoration tool, their success depends on matching species to suitable microhabitats and monitoring local conditions over time to support long-term outcomes.
| Item ID: | 89882 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Keywords: | Current, Flow, Latitude, Recruitment, Restoration, Spat, Spawning |
| Copyright Information: | © Crown 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2026 07:24 |
| FoR Codes: | 31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310305 Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 18 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT > 1805 Marine systems and management > 180504 Marine biodiversity @ 100% |
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