Enhancing the biodiversity of coastal defence structures: transplantation of nursery-reared reef biota onto intertidal seawalls

•Fragments of hard corals, soft corals and sponges were reared in a nursery.•They were transplanted at the intertidal zone of a seawall in Singapore.•Species with massive and encrusting growth forms fared the best.•The surviving transplants provided food and shelter to other marine animals.•Transpla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological engineering 2015-09, Vol.82, p.480-486
Main Authors: Ng, Chin Soon Lionel, Lim, Swee Cheng, Ong, Joo Yong, Teo, Lay Ming Serena, Chou, Loke Ming, Chua, Kok Eng, Tan, Koh Siang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cladiella
Coastal
Corals
Defence
Diploastrea heliopora
Ecology
Fragments
Gastropoda
Goniastrea
Heliopora
Hydnophora rigida
Intertidal seawalls
Lendenfeldia
Lobophytum
Marine
Nursery
Pocillopora damicornis
Porites lobata
Reefs
Rhabdastrella globostellata
Singapore
Sinularia
Sponges
Spongia
Transplantation
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Summary:•Fragments of hard corals, soft corals and sponges were reared in a nursery.•They were transplanted at the intertidal zone of a seawall in Singapore.•Species with massive and encrusting growth forms fared the best.•The surviving transplants provided food and shelter to other marine animals.•Transplantation is a feasible way of enhancing the ecological value of seawalls. Natural coastlines around the world are increasingly being modified and replaced by breakwaters, revetments and seawalls. Although such infrastructure is primarily intended to protect existing and new shorelines from erosion, such coastal defence structures can also serve as viable habitats for biological communities. In this study, the feasibility of transplanting reef biota to the intertidal zone of seawalls was explored. Fragments of hard corals (Porites lobata, Pocillopora damicornis, Hydnophora rigida, Diploastrea heliopora, Goniastrea minuta), soft corals (Cladiella sp., Lobophytum sp., Sinularia sp.) and sponges (Rhabdastrella globostellata, Spongia ceylonensis, Lendenfeldia chondrodes) were collected and reared in an ex situ mariculture facility. They were then transferred and affixed to intertidal surfaces of a seawall located on a small island off Changi, Singapore. Survivorship was significantly different between G. minuta and D. heliopora fragments transplanted on the seawall for 13 months (90% vs 10%; χ2=42.29, p
ISSN:0925-8574
1872-6992
DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.05.016