DOI: 10.5061/dryad.b3f0142
title: Data from: Survivorship and growth in staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) outplanting projects in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

description: Significant population declines in Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata
 began in the 1970s and now exceed over 90%. The losses were caused by a
 combination of coral disease and bleaching, with possible contributions
 from other stressors, including pollution and predation. Reproduction in
 the wild by fragment regeneration and sexual recruitment is inadequate to
 offset population declines. Starting in 2007, the Coral Restoration
 Foundation™ evaluated the feasibility of outplanting A. cervicornis
 colonies to reefs in the Florida Keys to restore populations at sites
 where the species was previously abundant. Reported here are the results
 of 20 coral outplanting projects with each project defined as a cohort of
 colonies outplanted at the same time and location. Photogrammetric
 analysis and in situ monitoring (2007 to 2015) measured survivorship,
 growth, and condition of 2419 colonies. Survivorship was initially high
 but generally decreased after two years. Survivorship among projects based
 on colony counts ranged from 4% to 89% for seven cohorts monitored at
 least five years. Weibull survival models were used to estimate
 survivorship beyond the duration of the projects and ranged from
 approximately 0% to over 35% after five years and 0% to 10% after seven
 years. Growth rate averaged 10 cm/year during the first two years then
 plateaued in subsequent years. After four years, approximately one-third
 of surviving colonies were ≥ 50 cm in maximum diameter. Projects used
 three to sixteen different genotypes and significant differences did not
 occur in survivorship, condition, or growth. Restoration times for three
 reefs were calculated based on NOAA Recovery Plan (NRP) metrics (colony
 abundance and size) and the findings from projects reported here. Results
 support NRP conclusions that reducing stressors is required before
 significant population growth and recovery will occur. Until then,
 outplanting protects against local extinction and helps to maintain
 genetic diversity in the wild.
description: Survivorship and Growth
 Data Meta and Raw
 Data
description: Survivorship (the percentage of colonies with any living tissue
 in a cohort) and condition (percentage of living tissue to the nearest 5%)
 [76] were obtained from the photographs using CANVAS software [77] and in
 situ using SCUBA. Weibull survival analysis models (using the statistical
 software package JMP, version 12 SAS) were used to project survivorship
 beyond the length of the studies [78]. Percent live tissue was analyzed in
 addition to survivorship because the survivorship metric is binary (dead
 =0; alive=1), while partial mortality is a continuous variable (0% to
 100%) that impacts survivorship. The maximum skeletal
 diameter of colonies was measured using scale references in the
 photographs that included identifier tags (indicating genotype) of known
 sizes or PVC bars, or by direct measurements underwater using SCUBA.
 Growth was estimated using Gompertz growth functions. Due to gaps in the
 photographic record and reduced sample sizes, colonies that survived four
 years or longer were combined into a single group. Size measurements were
 not normally distributed, based on Wilks tests; therefore, log
 transformation was performed to better approximate a normal distribution.
 Statistical analyses using generalized linear models were performed using
 log-transformed data in R [79], including analyses to determine whether or
 not there were genotype effects on survivorship, condition and
 growth. The time (years) and effort (the number of
 outplanted colonies) required to restore Carysfort Reef, Molasses Reef,
 and Conch Reef (Fig 1) were estimated using results from this study and
 metrics in the NRP. Specifically, reef areas delineated by GIS were
 divided by survivorship estimates after four years for cohorts that
 started with 1050 colonies. Based on the NRP abundance and size metrics,
 each surviving colony that reaches ≥ 50 cm maximum diameter restores 1
 m<sup>2</sup> of the reef. Two depth ranges were used to
 calculate restoration areas for the three reefs: 5 to 10 m approximates
 the historical distribution of the species in the Caribbean and Florida
 [2, 80] and 5 to 20 m water depth as identified in the NRP. The three
 reefs are management zones in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary,
 with boundaries that constrained the area estimates. Areas were delineated
 in GIS using a two-step geoprocessing intersect procedure. First, the
 Florida Keys 100 m grid cell habitat layer [17, 81] was clipped using the
 FKNMS management-zone layer. Then, the resulting habitats-within-zones
 layer was overlaid with the South Florida water depth layer. The final
 clipped and intersected layer contained polygons annotated with zone,
 habitat, and depth information.