Cost-effective coral settlement substrates for restoration, exports and research
Widiastuti, HASH(0x55da6dbd5018), Wijaya, Anak Agung Ngurah Agung Indra, Giuliano, Christine, Allen, Katie, Jenkins, Victoria, Randall, Carly J., and Page, Cathie (2025) Cost-effective coral settlement substrates for restoration, exports and research. Coral Reefs, 44 (6). pp. 2169-2179.
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Abstract
The sexual production of corals in aquaculture could increase the sustainability of coral restoration and export industries, particularly in developing countries where these industries predominantly rely on wild coral collections. Development of low-cost aquaculture facilities and coral settlement substrates is essential to encourage the uptake of these methods. Clay is widely available, easy and safe to use, and provides a low-cost option for coral settlement. The inclusion of non-toxic waste materials as additives in substrates to reduce costs may also promote coral settlement, given their combustion during firing creates pores and some coral taxa prefer to settle in crevices. Additives may also indirectly influence settlement via changes to the development of settlement-inducing biofilms during substrate conditioning. Here, we demonstrated the successful settlement of Acropora millepora larvae to substrates handmade from local clay (Kalimantan, Indonesia), to which three widely available cheap or free waste products were added [(1) coconut charcoal, (2) grog (fired clay ground into a granular form), and (3) breadcrumbs] at three concentrations (5, 15, and 25%). No differences in coral settlement to substrates containing the three additives were detected, nor were there differences among substrates with different additive concentrations. Also, crustose coralline algae cover, a common coral settlement inducer, did not vary among substrates containing different additives or additive concentrations after 28 days conditioning. Further testing of these and other additives across a broader suite of coral species should be explored, given their potential to reduce substrate costs while maintaining coral settlement.
| Item ID: | 89891 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1432-0975 |
| Keywords: | Aquarium trade, Coral collection, Coral larvae, Early life history stages, Export, Recycling, Waste |
| Copyright Information: | © The Author(s) 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: | 23 Jul 2026 06:41 |
| 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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