Coral restoration has exploded in popularity over the last ten years. There are now over 150 different coral restoration efforts growing and outplanting coral to restore degraded coral reefs in the Caribbean alone. Unfortunately, coral restoration can be expensive. Most of the regions that rely on their coral reefs for the many beneficial services they provide do not have the resources to undertake such a monumental task. Therefore, my primary research is focused on developing low-tech, scalable solutions that do not require expensive tools or access to a state-of-the-art laboratory.

Water tables

In a water-table nursery, Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) are fragmented into small pieces and grown in a safe environment until they are ready to outplant back on the reef. While this method has had lots of success, the costs of operating a water-… — In a water-table nursery, Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) are fragmented into small pieces and grown in a safe environment until they are ready to outplant back on the reef. While this method has had lots of success, the costs of operating a water-table nursery are incredibly high.

vs.

At the University of the Virgin Islands, I’m searching for coral restoration techniques that can be utilized in regions that don’t have the resources for large-scale coral nurseries.

I’m comparing growth and survival between corals grown in a water table nursery (expensive but effective) and direct outplanting (inexpensive but success is unknown) through two separate studies.

Direct Outplanting

This Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) was tagged so it can be monitored over time.

Dan Mele collects a piece of Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata). Photo: Brad Arrington

Dan Mele fragments a piece of coral out of the back of his jeep. Photo: Brad Arrington

Kathryn Cobleigh and Adam Glahn epoxy a fragment of Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) to a cement puck that will be outplanted back on the reef. Photo: Brad Arrington

Dan Mele fragments a piece of coral at the UVI laboratory. Photo: Kathryn Cobleigh

Dan Mele, Adam Glahn, and Makea Mills fragmenting coral. Photo; Kathryn Cobleigh

Dan Mele and Adam Glahn placing pieces of coral back in the water tables after being fragmented. Photo: Kathryn Cobleigh

Dan Mele monitoring coral outplants by taking top down photographs to measure growth. Photo: Kathryn Cobleigh

An Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) at Stumpy Bay, St. Thomas.

Coral science in the u.s. virgin islands

VI Reef Response

Virgin Islands Reef Response is the U.S. Virgin Islands leading coral restoration organization. Currently, we're working on numerous projects outplanting coral, building and maintaining in-water and land-based nurseries, partnering with dive shops, and creating ecotourism attractions.

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coral monitoring

Through the University of the Virgin Islands, I have worked on many different research projects such as the Territorial, National, and Deep Coral Reef Monitoring Programs. This data helps researchers to better understand the condition over time of U.S. Virgin Islands coral reefs.

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