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Long-term retention and density-dependent herbivory from Diadema antillarum following translocation onto a reef restoration site

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Abstract

Most reported Diadema antillarum restocking has resulted in low survival and retention. These outcomes challenge conservation and restoration goals. A manipulative study was conducted to evaluate site retention, tandem coral-urchin restoration, and herbivory from 200 adult D. antillarum translocated to five experimental plots off Key Biscayne, Florida. Two additional plots were monitored as controls. Surveys revealed homogeneous dispersal over time, with overall retention of 94.5%, 79.5%, 56.0% and 22.5% at 1-, 7-, 84- and 267-days post-release, respectively. Rugosity significantly predicted urchin retention and plots with higher relief exhibited reduced emigration rates. Benthic image analysis revealed a significant decline in macroalgae relative to controls when urchin densities were above 0.15 m−2 but not at 0.04 m−2. Urchin plots experienced a 27% reduction in macroalgae from days 7 to 84. Results indicated higher long-term retention, especially within plots with greater relief, and evidence for ecologically significant herbivory following a single translocation event.

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Acknowledgements

All work described occurred under Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Special Activity License permit #SAL-20-2287-R. Funding was mainly provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Additional support came from USDA/NIFA HATCH project #FLA-FOR-005902. We are grateful for additional assistance provided by Jay Casello, Mack Hollins, Shannon Jones, Andy Dehart, Rachel Serafin, and other members of Force Blue, The University of Florida Josh Patterson lab, and the University of Miami Rescue a Reef program.

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Conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft were contributed by Aaron R. Pilnick; investigation, visualization, writing—review and editing were contributed by Joseph A. Henry; conceptualization, investigation, methodology, writing—review and editing were contributed by Dalton Hesley; conceptualization, investigation, resources, writing—review and editing were contributed by John L. Akins; conceptualization, resources, supervision, writing—review and editing were contributed by Joshua T. Patterson; conceptualization, funding acquisition, supervision, methodology, resources, writing—review and editing were contributed by Diego Lirman.

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Correspondence to Aaron R. Pilnick.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there are no competing interests that are relevant to the content of this article.

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No specific approval of research ethics committees was required to accomplish the goals of this study because experimental work was conducted with an unregulated invertebrate species.

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Pilnick, A.R., Henry, J.A., Hesley, D. et al. Long-term retention and density-dependent herbivory from Diadema antillarum following translocation onto a reef restoration site. Coral Reefs 42, 629–634 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02369-5

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