Assisted sexual reproduction of Acropora cervicornis for active restoration on Florida’s Coral Reef

Given the rapid, global decline in the health and abundance of coral reefs, increased investments in restoration-based interventions – including asexual and sexual propagation – are being made by coral reef scientists at research institutions, but also at zoos and aquariums. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium is an independent, non-profit marine science organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of Florida’s Coral Reef, and does so, using science-based strategies. In order to promote the long-term persistence, resilience, and adaptive potential of restored coral populations on Florida’s Coral Reef, Mote scientists are performing critical research and restoration activities related to assisted sexual reproduction (ASR). The objective of this study was to optimize ASR of Acropora cervicornis by (1) evaluating broodstock compatibility for genets actively used within Mote’s restoration gene pool, (2) optimizing larval settlement by testing spectral cues, (3) and optimizin..., Please refer to the Methods section of the associated paper for details on data collection. We performed all statistical analyses in R v.4.0.3 (R Core Team, 2020). , Microsoft Office - Excel