Relocating bleached Platygyra sinensis facilitates recovery from thermal stress during a minor bleaching event

Abstract

Abstract The recovery of bleached corals is crucial in ensuring the persistence of the coral reef ecosystem function. This study investigated whether relocating bleached Platygyra sinensis colonies was a viable measure to accelerate their recovery. During a mild bleaching event in 2014, eight bleached colonies of P. sinensis were relocated from an affected reef at Sultan Shoal, Singapore, to a reef at Kusu that was less impacted. Another eight colonies at Sultan Shoal were tagged as controls. After five months, 88% of relocated bleached colonies at Kusu showed full recovery whereas only 25% of the control bleached colonies at Sultan Shoal had recovered. The differential coral recovery among the two sites was most likely due to lower seawater temperatures and faster water flow at Kusu, which helped to mitigate the effects of thermal stress on the bleached corals. This relocation study demonstrated that relocating bleached P. sinensis to sites with more favourable environmental conditions is a viable approach to reduce bleaching impacts for this species.