Improving scientific decision-making in the restoration of ship-grounding sites on coral reefs

摘要

When ships contact reefs they break and crush coral rock, kill corals and other sessile organisms, open bare space for colonization, and eliminate topographic (habitat) com- plexity. We explored the ecology of ship groundings and the scope of restoration possi- bilities. Our guiding hyothesis was that high-relief areas damaged by ship groundings would not recover to their original community structure without restoration, but instead would converge on an alternate community state similar to natural hard ground communi- ties.