Henry Goehlich | Geomar - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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Papers by Henry Goehlich
In coral reef restoration, coral gardening involves rearing coral fragments in underwater nurseri... more In coral reef restoration, coral gardening involves rearing coral fragments in underwater nurseries prior to
transplantation. These nurseries become fish-aggregating devices and attract biofouling. We hypothesised
that: (1) the presence of corals at a nursery is critical to recruit fish assemblages and (2) the recruited fish
assemblages control biofouling, reducing person-hours invested in nursery cleaning. Three midwater coral
nurseries were deployed at 8 m depth for 27 months within the marine protected area of Cousin Island Special
Reserve, Seychelles, Indian Ocean. Each nursery consisted of a 6 m × 6 m PVC pipe frame, layered with a recycled
5.5-cm-mesh tuna net. Human cleaning effort was calculated based on daily dive logs. Nursery-associated fish
assemblages and behaviour were video-recorded prior to harvesting corals after a 20-month growth period and
seven months post-coral harvesting. The density (ind. m–2) of blue-yellow damselfish Pomacentrus caeruleus was
12–16 times higher when corals were present than when corals were absent at the nurseries. Fish assemblages
recruited into the nurseries included three trophic levels, from herbivores to omnivores, in six families: Ephippidae,
Pomacentridae, Labridae (Scarinae), Gobiidae, Siganidae and Monacanthidae. Higher abundance of large fish (total
number of individuals) resulted in 2.75 times less person-hours spent in nursery cleaning. These results have
important implications for cost-effective coral reef restoration.
In coral reef restoration, coral gardening involves rearing coral fragments in underwater nurseri... more In coral reef restoration, coral gardening involves rearing coral fragments in underwater nurseries prior to
transplantation. These nurseries become fish-aggregating devices and attract biofouling. We hypothesised
that: (1) the presence of corals at a nursery is critical to recruit fish assemblages and (2) the recruited fish
assemblages control biofouling, reducing person-hours invested in nursery cleaning. Three midwater coral
nurseries were deployed at 8 m depth for 27 months within the marine protected area of Cousin Island Special
Reserve, Seychelles, Indian Ocean. Each nursery consisted of a 6 m × 6 m PVC pipe frame, layered with a recycled
5.5-cm-mesh tuna net. Human cleaning effort was calculated based on daily dive logs. Nursery-associated fish
assemblages and behaviour were video-recorded prior to harvesting corals after a 20-month growth period and
seven months post-coral harvesting. The density (ind. m–2) of blue-yellow damselfish Pomacentrus caeruleus was
12–16 times higher when corals were present than when corals were absent at the nurseries. Fish assemblages
recruited into the nurseries included three trophic levels, from herbivores to omnivores, in six families: Ephippidae,
Pomacentridae, Labridae (Scarinae), Gobiidae, Siganidae and Monacanthidae. Higher abundance of large fish (total
number of individuals) resulted in 2.75 times less person-hours spent in nursery cleaning. These results have
important implications for cost-effective coral reef restoration.