Wave energy and other environmental drivers as predictors of seeded-coral performance on the Great Barrier Reef

This dataset explores how wave energy affects the survival and growth of coral recruits on seeded devices. Data were collected to understand how environmental factors influence post-settlement coral survival, aiming to improve seeding device deployment strategies.Broodstock colonies of three Acropora species (A. hyacinthus, A. millepora, and A. tenuis) were collected and spawned at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. The resulting larvae were reared, settled onto devices, and deployed between January and February 2022 across wave energy gradients at Moore, Davies, and Heron Reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. Devices were placed at 10 sites per reef (n = 25 devices per site), spanning five wave-energy levels, and censused over 1.5 to 2 years. Environmental data included wave energy estimates, bottom stress, flow velocity, sedimentation, and benthic community composition. Analyses used Bayesian models to assess survival and size in relation to environmental predictors. The dataset supports research on fine-scale spatial variability in coral restoration outcomes.