Preliminary results of coral gardening with fragments of the genus Pocillopora as a restoration tool in the Bay of La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/4yc4y097Keywords:
growth rate; survival rate; nursery; transplanting; active restoration; Pichilingue.Abstract
Introduction: Coral reefs in the Mexican Pacific and the Gulf of California have undergone a marked decline in live coral cover as a result of the synergistic effects of anthropogenic stressors and climate change. In response, a range of restoration strategies has been developed, among which active restoration using coral fragments of opportunity has gained increasing relevance.
Objective: To evaluate a coral restoration approach that involves the in situ cultivation of coral fragments for six months, followed by their transplantation to a degraded reef site as established colonies.
Methods: Coral fragments of opportunity were collected and cultivated in table-type nurseries from September 2023 to March 2024. After the nursery phase, fragments were transplanted to the restoration site using PVC bases affixed to the rocky substrate with epoxy putty. Transplanted colonies were monitored in situ until March 2025 to assess growth and survival.
Results: During the nursery phase, cultivated fragments exhibited a mean net linear extension of 2.23 cm and 100 % survival. From the nursery stage through the post-transplantation period, growth rates were 0.0127 cm day–¹ (r² = 0.99, p = 1.10 × 10–¹⁹) in height, 0.0168 cm day–¹ (r² = 0.98, p = 1.31 × 10–¹⁸) in maximum diameter, and 0.0163 cm day–¹ (r² = 0.96, p = 1.80 × 10–¹⁴) in minimum diameter. Overall survival following transplantation was 82.5 %.
Conclusions: The growth and survival rates observed are consistent with previously reported values for Pocillopora in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. These findings support the robustness and reproducibility of the proposed methodology and highlight its potential to generate viable coral colonies for outplanting, thereby enhancing restoration success in degraded reef systems.
Downloads
References
Aranceta-Garza, F., Balart, E. F., Reyes-Bonilla, H., & Cruz-Hernández, P. (2012). Effect of tropical storms on sexual and asexual reproduction in coral Pocillopora verrucosa subpopulations in the Gulf of California. Coral Reefs, 31(4), 1157–1167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0941-9
Ateweberhan, M., Feary, D. A., Keshavmurthy, S., Chen, A., Schleyer, M. H., & Sheppard, C. R. (2013). Climate change impacts on coral reefs: synergies with local effects, possibilities for acclimation, and management implications. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 74(2), 526–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.06.011
Aviña-Hernández, R. J. (2018). Estimación de parámetros ambientales a partir de imágenes Landsat 8 y mediciones in situ, en Bahía de La Paz, BCS (Tesis de maestría). Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, S. C, México. https://cibnor.repositorioinstitucional.mx/jspui/handle/1001/1381
Baums, I. B., Chamberland, V. F., Locatelli, N. S., & Conn, T. (2022). Maximizing genetic diversity in coral restoration projects. En M. J. H. Van Oppen, & M. Aranda-Lastra (Eds), Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration in the Omics Age (Coral Reefs of the World, Vol 15, pp. 35–53). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07055-6_3
Boström-Einarsson, L., Babcock, R. C., Bayraktarov, E., Ceccarelli, D., Cook, N., Ferse, S. C. A., Hancock, B., Harrison, P., Hein, M., Shaver, E., Smith, A., Suggett, D. J., Stewart-Sinclair, P., Vardi, T., & McLeod, I. M. (2020). Coral restoration-A systematic review of current methods, successes, failures and future directions. PLos One, 15, e0226631. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226631
Cervantes-Duarte, R., Valdez-Holguín, J. E., & Reyes-Salinas, A. (2004). Comparación de reflectancia in situ 443/555 y 490/555 con clorofila a y materia suspendida total en bahía de La Paz, BCS, México. Hidrobiológica, 14, 11–17.
Chávez-Romo, H. E., & Reyes-Bonilla, H. (2007). Reproducción sexual del coral Pocillopora damicornis al sur del Golfo de California, México. Ciencias Marinas, 33(4), 495–501.
Eddy, T. D., Lam, V. W. Y., Reygondeau, G., Cisneros-Montemayor, A. M., Greer, K., Palomares, M. L. D., Bruno, J. F., Ota, Y., & Cheung, W. W. L. (2021). Global decline in capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services. One Earth, 4(9), 1278–1285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.016
García-Medrano, D., López-Pérez, A., Guendulain-García, S., Valencia-Méndez, O., Granja-Fernández, R., González-Mendoza, T., & Torres-Hernádez P. (2023). Gardening Pocillopora spp. fragments and their potential for rebuilding reef systems in the southern Mexican Pacific. Restoration Ecology, 31(8), e14006. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14006
Glynn, P. W., Alvarado, J. J., Banks, S., Cortés, J., Feingold, J. S., Jiménez, C., Maragos, J. E., Martínez, P., Maté, J. L., Moanga, D. A., Navarrete, S., Reyes-Bonilla, H., Riegl, B., Rivera, F., Vargas-Ángel, B., Wieters, E. A., & Zapata, F. A. (2017). Eastern Pacific coral reef provinces, coral community structure and composition: An overview. En P. W. Glynn, D. P. Manzello, & I. C. Enochs (Eds.), Coral reefs of the Eastern Tropical Pacific: Persistence and loss in a dynamic environment (pp. 107–176). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7499-4_5
Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2001). Sizing the impact: Coral reef ecosystems as early casualties of climate change. En G. R. Walther, C. A. Burga, & P. J. Edwards (Eds.), “Fingerprints” of climate change. Adapted behaviour and shifting species ranges. (pp. 203–228). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8692-4_13
Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Mumby, P. J., Hooten, A. J., Steneck, R. S., Greenfield, P., Gomez, E., Harvell, D., Sale, P. F., Edwards, A. J., Caldeira, K., Knowlton, N., Eakin, C. M., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Muthiga, N., Bradbury, R. H., Dubi, A., & Hatziolos, M. E. (2007). Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science, 318(5857), 1737–1742. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152509
López-Pérez, A., Granja-Fernández, R., Ramirez-Chavez, E., Valencia-Méndez, O., Rodríguez-Zaragoza, F. A., González-Mendoza, T., & Martínez-Castro, A. (2024). Widespread coral bleaching and mass mortality of reef-building corals in southern Mexican Pacific reefs due to 2023 El Niño warming. Oceans, 5(2), 234–248. https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans5020012
Martínez-Castillo, V., Rodríguez-Troncoso, A. P., Tortolero-Langarica, J. J. A., & Cupul-Magaña, A. L. (2023). Active restoration efforts in the Central Mexican Pacific as a strategy for coral reef recovery. Revista de Biología Tropical, 71(S1), e54795. https://doi.org/10.15517/rev.biol.trop..v71iS1.54795
Monty, J. A., Gillian, D. S., Banks, K., Stout, D. K., & Dodge, D. E. (2006). Coral of opportunity survivorship and the use of coral nurseries in coral reef restoration. Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures, 31, 1665–1673. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facpresentations/31
Omori, M. (2019). Coral restoration research and technical developments: what we have learned so far. Marine Biology Research, 15(7), 377–409. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451000.2019.1662050
Pinzón, J. H., Reyes-Bonilla, H., Baums, I. B., & LaJeunesse, T. C. (2012). Contrasting clonal structure among Pocillopora (Scleractinia) communities at two environmentally distinct sites in the Gulf of California. Coral Reefs, 31(3), 765–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0887-y
Posit Team. (2025). RStudio: Integrated Development Environment for R. Posit Software. [Computer software] http://www.posit.com/.
Reimer, J. D., Peixoto, R. S., Davies, S. W., Traylor-Knowles, N., Short, M. L., Cabral-Tena, R. A., Burt, J. A., Pessoa, I., Banaszak, A. T., Winters, R. S., Moore, T., Schoepf, V., Kaullysing, D., Calderon-Aguilera, L. E., Wörheide, G., Harding, S.,, Munbodhe, V., Mayfield, A., Ainsworth, T., … Voolstra C. R. (2024). The fourth global coral bleaching event: where do we go from here? Coral Reefs, 43(4), 1121–1125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-024-02504-w
Reyes-Bonilla, H. (2003). Coral reefs of the Pacific coast of México. En J. Cortés (Ed.), Latin American Coral Reefs (pp. 331–349). Elsevier Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-044451388-5/50015-1
Rinkevich, B. (1995). Restoration strategies for coral reefs damaged by recreational activities: the use of sexual and asexual recruits. Restoration Ecology, 3(4), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.1995.tb00091.x
Rinkevich, B. (2014). Rebuilding coral reefs: does active reef restoration lead to sustainable reefs?. Environmental Sustainability, 7, 28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.11.018
Rinkevich, B. (2025). Forethoughtful coral nurseries: alleviating climate change impediments on the reefs of tomorrow. Discover Oceans, 2, 21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44289-025-00062-9
Robles-Payán, A., Héctor Reyes-Bonilla, H., & Cáceres-Martínez, C. (2021). Crecimiento y supervivencia de corales durante la fase inicial de cultivo en La Paz, Baja California Sur, México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 92, e923594. https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2021.92.3594
Rodríguez-Troncoso, A. P., Tortolero-Langarica, J. J. A., Medellín-López, P. C., Canizales-Flores, H. M., Godínez-Domínguez, E., & Cupul-Magaña, A. L. (2023). Evaluación de los indicadores demográficos de Pocillopora (Scleractinia: Pocilloporidae) en sitios insulares vs. costeros: implicaciones para un programa de restauración regional. Revista de Biología Tropical, 71(S1), e54790. https://doi.org/10.15517/rev.biol.trop..v71iS1.54790
Santiago-Valentín, J. D., Rodríguez-Troncoso, A. P., Bautista-Guerrero, E., López-Pérez, A., & Cupul-Magaña, A. L. (2020). Settlement ecology of scleractinian corals of the Northeastern Tropical Pacific. Coral Reefs, 39(1), 133–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01872-y
Tortolero-Langarica, J. J. A., Cupul-Magaña, A. L., & Rodríguez-Troncoso, A. P. (2014). Restoration of a degraded coral reef using a natural remediation process: A case study from a Central Mexican Pacific National Park. Ocean & Coastal Management, 96, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.04.020
Tortolero-Langarica, J. J. A., Rodríguez-Troncoso, A. P., Cupul-Magaña, A. L., & Rinkevich, B. (2020). Micro-Fragmentation as an effective and applied tool to restore remote reefs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(18), 6574. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17186574
Tortolero-Langarica, J. J. A., Rodríguez-Troncoso, A. P., & Nava, H. (2025). Advances in coral reef restoration in the Mexican Pacific: active interventions and scaling approaches. Restoration Ecology, e70176. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70176
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Revista de Biología Tropical
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY 4.0)
Attribution (BY) • (BY) You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
