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Capitalizing on an ecological process to aid coral reef ecosystem restoration: Can gastropod trophodynamics enhance coral survival?

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Abstract

Coral reefs in the Florida Keys have degraded in recent decades, prompting efforts to re-establish populations of staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, to restore structure and ecological function. However, predation on these corals by the corallivorous gastropod, Coralliophila galea, has been a substantial and chronic impediment to restoration efforts. Therefore, we conducted a series of manipulative laboratory experiments and a 2-week, in situ proof-of-concept trial to determine whether Thais deltoidea, a carnivorous gastropod that co-occurs with C. galea, can control C. galea corallivory and thus improve A. cervicornis survival. Our laboratory results showed that T. deltoidea preys upon C. galea, although it is not a preferred prey choice. Nevertheless, treatments with T. deltoidea had significantly higher percentages of live coral tissue than when T. deltoidea was absent. This occurred not only because T. deltoidea consumed C. galea, but also because the presence of T. deltoidea elicited an escape response in C. galea, significantly reducing the amount of time C. galea spent feeding on A. cervicornis colonies. This trophic relationship was also seen in our in situ proof-of-concept trial. We observed significantly fewer C. galea on A. cervicornis when T. deltoidea was present which led to a higher, if not statistically significant, percentage of live tissue on our A. cervicornis outplants. Ecological processes need to be incorporated into coral reef ecosystem restoration to achieve positive outcomes. Integrating T. deltoidea into coral restoration efforts may improve success by mitigating C. galea corallivory through the non-consumptive, risk-adverse, escape response that T. deltoidea provokes, initiating a trophic cascade that improves the long-term survival of outplanted corals. Further research is needed to determine the long-term efficacy of this approach, but the addition of gastropod trophodynamics to coral reef ecosystem restoration may prove useful.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative and the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grants program (Grant #9750-295-1252). Additional funding was provided by the Wildlife Foundation of Florida’s Charles Stroh Fund for the restoration of Davis Reef as well as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Work was conducted under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit numbers FKNMS-2011-150-A1, FKNMS-2011-159-A4, and FKNMS-2016-060. The authors would like to thank Einat Sandbank for her contributions in the laboratory and in the field. Casey Butler, Jennifer Granneman, Colin Howe, Stephanie Schopmeyer, and two anonymous reviewers made valuable suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript.

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  1. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 2796 Overseas Hwy, Suite 119, Marathon, FL, 33050, USA

    Gabriel A. Delgado & William C. Sharp

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  1. Gabriel A. Delgado
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Correspondence to Gabriel A. Delgado.

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Delgado, G.A., Sharp, W.C. Capitalizing on an ecological process to aid coral reef ecosystem restoration: Can gastropod trophodynamics enhance coral survival?. Coral Reefs 39, 319–330 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-020-01893-y

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