Abstract
In the first of a series of experiments on coral recruitment by in situ mass culture, transportation, and settlement of reef-building coral larvae in Okinawa, Japan, gametes and embryos from slick on the sea surface after mass spawning in early summer, 2002 were collected and cultured in eight floating culture ponds (2.0mL × 2.0mW × 1.0mD each) at Akajima until the planula larvae were competent to settle into the substratum. In May, about 2 million larvae were transported by boat to a seeding experimental station at Naha Port, a distance of 50 km east of Akajima. Similarly, in June additional 1.2 million larvae cultured in a 1-ton rearing tank were transported to the same seeding station. Divers then released the larvae over concrete blocks surrounded by a vinyl cloth with windows in a mesh screen or by a nylon mesh enclosure. The number of polyps settled on the concrete blocks was monitored 4, 7 and 9 months after seeding and compared with a control outside the mesh enclosures. The results exhibited an enhancement of coral larval recruitment and demonstrated the applicability of this restoration technology in the rehabilitation of coral reefs in defined areas where natural recruitment is limited.
