RESTORATION OF CORAL REEFS IN PACIFIC COSTA-RICA

Loss and degradation of coral reef habitats are increasing in the eastern Pacific. Intense, frequent natural and human-induced disturbances have devastated most reefs in this region during the last decade. Slow recovery combined with intense bioerosion has led to extensive destruction of the reef frameworks. At some reefs along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, 100% mortality of the dominant coral (Pocillopora spp.) occurred in shallow water. Surviving individuals for some pocilloporid species are extremely small, and reef recovery by sexual or asexual means has been lowered. A restoration experiment was conducted in two different shallow habitats inside a marine biological reserve. Coral fragments (n = 110) imported from nearby reefs were transplanted onto dead reef frameworks, and after three years, survivorship was 79% - 83%. Furthermore, fragmentation caused a 41% - 115% increase in new colonies. These results suggest that coral transplantation for reef management and restoration is a feasible tool in the eastern Pacific region.