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<p>Coral transplantation has become a key restoration strategy in response to widespread reef degradation, yet the ecological roles of outplanting density and species interactions are rarely applied in practice. Here we transplanted in Wuzhizhou Island, China, 1728 coral fragments from three common reef-building species (<i>Pocillopora damicornis</i>, <i>Acropora microphthalma</i>, <i>Porites cylindrica</i>) on Frame Reef Modules (FRM; 30&#xa0;cm above substrates) using cable ties. We established 6 replicates for the combinations: low density (16 colonies/FRM), high density (32 colonies/FRM), monocultures (single species/FRM) and polycultures (2 species/FRM). FRMs were monitored for 458&#xa0;days to test how density-dependent interactions shape restoration outcomes and microbial succession. Employing the relative&#xa0;interaction intensity index, coral fragments showed higher survival and steady growth rates under high-density monoculture conditions, indicating that intraspecific facilitation, rather than interspecific interactions, drives success. Using coral-associated bacterial data, we built machine learning models linking microbiome composition to coral growth, identifying core taxa and microbial indicators responsive to density and culture type. Collectively, our findings show that conspecific aggregation improves transplantation performance, supports microbiome-informed growth prediction, and highlights the value of applying ecological principles to enhance restoration success and cost-efficiency.</p>

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Like attracts like: conspecific aggregation boosts coral restoration and enables microbiome-based growth prediction

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月4日

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  • Wentao Zhu,
  • Xiangbo Liu,
  • He Zhao,
  • Junling Zhang,
  • Baruch Rinkevich,
  • Pei Yang,
  • Aimin Wang,
  • Xiubao Li

摘要

Coral transplantation has become a key restoration strategy in response to widespread reef degradation, yet the ecological roles of outplanting density and species interactions are rarely applied in practice. Here we transplanted in Wuzhizhou Island, China, 1728 coral fragments from three common reef-building species (Pocillopora damicornis, Acropora microphthalma, Porites cylindrica) on Frame Reef Modules (FRM; 30 cm above substrates) using cable ties. We established 6 replicates for the combinations: low density (16 colonies/FRM), high density (32 colonies/FRM), monocultures (single species/FRM) and polycultures (2 species/FRM). FRMs were monitored for 458 days to test how density-dependent interactions shape restoration outcomes and microbial succession. Employing the relative interaction intensity index, coral fragments showed higher survival and steady growth rates under high-density monoculture conditions, indicating that intraspecific facilitation, rather than interspecific interactions, drives success. Using coral-associated bacterial data, we built machine learning models linking microbiome composition to coral growth, identifying core taxa and microbial indicators responsive to density and culture type. Collectively, our findings show that conspecific aggregation improves transplantation performance, supports microbiome-informed growth prediction, and highlights the value of applying ecological principles to enhance restoration success and cost-efficiency.