Effects of material types and surface roughness of settlement tiles on macroalgal colonisation and early coral recruitment success

This study assessed the effects of modifying surface roughness across three different tile materials (alumina-based ceramic, calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and concrete) on the settlement success and post-settlement survivorship of Acropora kenti coral larvae. The experiment was conducted at the National Sea Simulator of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Australia in October 2022–February 2023. Tiles were first conditioned for six weeks to allow mixed communities of biofilm and macroalgae to develop, followed by a coral larval settlement choice assay and 10 weeks monitoring of post-settlement survival of coral spat. Tiles were photographed periodically to assess macroalgal communities, larval settlement success, and spat survivorship.

本研究评估了三种不同基底板材（氧化铝基陶瓷、碳酸钙（CaCO3）及混凝土）的表面粗糙度改性对肯特轴孔珊瑚（Acropora kenti）幼虫附着成功率及附着后存活率的影响。实验于2022年10月至2023年2月在澳大利亚汤斯维尔的澳大利亚海洋科学研究所（Australian Institute of Marine Science）国家海洋模拟设施（National Sea Simulator）开展。研究人员首先对基底板材进行为期六周的预处理，以使生物膜与大型藻类形成混合群落；随后开展珊瑚幼虫附着选择实验，并对珊瑚稚体的附着后存活情况进行为期10周的监测。实验期间定期对基底板材进行拍摄，以评估大型藻类群落、幼虫附着成功率及稚珊瑚存活率。