Virgin Islands National Park Coral Transplant Study

In a pilot project in the Caribbean (Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands), storm-produced fragments of Acropora palmata, Acropora cervicornis, and Porites porites were collected from donor reefs and transplanted to nearby degraded reefs. Sixty coral fragments were attached to dead-coral substrate (usually upright Acropora palmata skeletons), at similar depths from which they had been collected (1 to 3.5 m), using nylon cable ties. Seventy-five intact colonies were designated as reference colonies. Study colonies were assessed at 6-month intervals for 2 years (1999-2001) and annually thereafter (through 2009).