title: Restoring depleted coral-reef fish populations through recruitment enhancement: a proof of concept.
abstract: To determine whether enhancing the survival of new recruits is a sensible target for the restorative management of depleted coral-reef fish populations, settlement-stage ambon damsel fish Pomacentrus amboinensis were captured, tagged and then either released immediately onto small artificial reefs or held in aquaria for 1 week prior to release. Holding conditions were varied to determine whether they affected survival of fish: half the fish were held in bare tanks (non-enriched) and the other half in tanks containing coral and sand (enriched). Holding fish for this short period had a significantly positive effect on survivorship relative to the settlement-stage treatment group that were released immediately. The enrichment of holding conditions made no appreciable difference on the survival of fish once released onto the reef. It did, however, have a positive effect on the survival of fish while in captivity, thus supporting the case for the provision of simple environmental enrichment in fish husbandry. Collecting and holding settlement-stage fish for at least a week before release appear to increase the short-term survival of released fish; whether it is an effective method for longer-term enhancement of locally depleted coral-reef fish populations will require further study.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK. adel.heenan@gmail.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heenan
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Meekan
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Braithwaite
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology; D057894:Coral Reefs; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D010473:Perciformes / Q000502:physiology*; D016019:Survival Analysis