Site Selection for Coral Reef Restoration Using Airborne Imaging Spectroscopy

Over the past decade, coral restoration efforts have increased as reefs continue to decline at unprecedented rates. Identifying suitable coral outplanting locations to maximize coral survival continues to be one of the biggest challenges for restoration practitioners. Here, we demonstrate methods of using derivatives from imaging spectroscopy from the Global Airborne Observatory (GAO) to identify suitable coral outplant sites and report on the survival rates of restored coral at those sites. Outplant sites for a community-based, citizen science outplant event in Bavaro, Dominican Republic, were identified using expert-defined criteria applied to a suitability model from data layers derived from airborne imagery. Photo quadrat analysis of the benthic community confirmed the accuracy of airborne remote sensing maps with live coral cover averaging 3.5-4% and mean algal cover (macro algae and turf) ranging from 28 to 32%. Coral outplant sites were selected at 3-7 m depth with maximized levels of habitat complexity (i.e., rugosity) and live coral cover and minimized levels of macroalgal cover, as predicted by the imaging spectrometer data. In November 2019, 1,722 Acropora cervicornis fragments (80-180 mm in length) were outplanted to these sites. Surveys conducted in January 2020 in four of these sites confirmed that 92% of outplants survived after 3 months. By October 2020 (11 months after outplanting), survivorship remained above 76%. These results demonstrate higher than average success rates for coral outplant survival for this species. An online tool was developed to enable replication and facilitate future selection of coral restoration sites. Our objective is to present a case study that uses GAO-derived map products within a suitability model framework to provide a quantitative and replicable method for selecting coral restoration sites with the goal of increasing outplant survival over time.