Zachary A Quinlan, Matthew-James Bennett, Milou G I Arts, Mark Levenstein, Daisy Flores, Haley M Tholen, Lucas Tichy, Gabriel Juarez, Andreas F Haas, Valérie F Chamberland, Kelly R W Latijnhouwers, Mark J A Vermeij, Amy Wagoner Johnson, Kristen L Marhaver, Linda Wegley Kelly
Reef-building crustose coralline algae (CCA) are known to facilitate the settlement and metamorphosis of scleractinian coral larvae. In recent decades, CCA coverage has fallen globally and degrading environmental conditions continue to reduce coral survivorship, spurring new restoration interventions to rebuild coral reef health. In this study, naturally produced chemical compounds (metabolites) were collected from two pantropical CCA genera to isolate and classify those that induce coral settlement. In experiments using four ecologically important Caribbean coral species, we demonstrate the applicability of extracted, CCA-derived metabolites to improve larval settlement success in coral breeding and restoration efforts...
October 25, 2023: Proceedings. Biological Sciences