Does stocking of grazing crabs (Maguimithrax spinosissimus) facilitate the survival and growth of out‐planted corals?
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| Title: | Does stocking of grazing crabs (Maguimithrax spinosissimus) facilitate the survival and growth of out‐planted corals? |
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| Authors: | Butler, Mark J.1 (AUTHOR) mjbutleriv@gmail.com |
| Source: | Restoration Ecology. Mar2026, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p1-13. 13p. |
| Subjects: | Coral reef restoration, Crabs, Reef ecology, Coral reefs & islands |
| Geographic Terms: | Caribbean, Florida, Florida Keys (Fla.) |
| Abstract: | Introduction: Macroalgal overgrowth on Caribbean coral reefs exacerbates coral disease and compromises the settlement, growth, and reproduction of corals. A new technique to combat the resultant coral‐to‐macroalgae phase shift is the stocking of native crabs (Maguimithrax spinosissimus) that graze on algae. Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy of crab stock enhancement in facilitating the success of out‐planting corals on coral reefs in the Florida Keys, Florida, United States. Methods: Coral fragments of three coral species (one branching coral: Acropora cervicornis; two boulder corals: Montastrea cavernosa and Pseudodiploria clivosa) were out‐planted on 32 patch reefs at two inshore and two offshore locations. Half of the reefs were stocked with crabs. Macroalgal cover on each patch reef along with the survival and growth of out‐planted corals was then monitored during the summer and winter for 2 years. Results: There was no effect of crab stocking on macroalgal cover and crabs had little effect on the growth or survival of A. cervicornis. However, the presence of crabs improved the growth and survival of the two boulder coral species, although the magnitude of those effects varied by reef location. Conclusions: Previous studies have heralded the strong effects that crab grazing has on reducing macroalgae and improving coral recruitment on reefs. The former was not observed in this study, although stocking crabs improved the success of coral out‐planting, with results varying by species and reef location. Implications for Practice: These findings confirm the efficacy of stocking Maguimithrax spinosissimus on Caribbean coral reefs in tandem with coral out‐plants as a strategy for coral reef restoration. However, the magnitude of the effect of crabs on the removal of algae was less pronounced than in previous studies and varied among coral species and between inshore and offshore reefs. Repeated restocking of crabs will be necessary to maintain the high densities required for meaningful reductions in macroalgae. These results highlight the need for coral reef restoration practitioners to tailor restoration strategies according to the idiosyncrasies of reef location and the types of corals targeted for restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Restoration Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 192477550 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Does stocking of grazing crabs (Maguimithrax spinosissimus) facilitate the survival and growth of out‐planted corals? – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Butler%2C+Mark+J%2E%22">Butler, Mark J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mjbutleriv@gmail.com</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Restoration+Ecology%22">Restoration Ecology</searchLink>. Mar2026, Vol. 34 Issue 3, p1-13. 13p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coral+reef+restoration%22">Coral reef restoration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Crabs%22">Crabs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reef+ecology%22">Reef ecology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Coral+reefs+%26+islands%22">Coral reefs & islands</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Caribbean%22">Caribbean</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Florida%22">Florida</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Florida+Keys+%28Fla%2E%29%22">Florida Keys (Fla.)</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Introduction: Macroalgal overgrowth on Caribbean coral reefs exacerbates coral disease and compromises the settlement, growth, and reproduction of corals. A new technique to combat the resultant coral‐to‐macroalgae phase shift is the stocking of native crabs (Maguimithrax spinosissimus) that graze on algae. Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy of crab stock enhancement in facilitating the success of out‐planting corals on coral reefs in the Florida Keys, Florida, United States. Methods: Coral fragments of three coral species (one branching coral: Acropora cervicornis; two boulder corals: Montastrea cavernosa and Pseudodiploria clivosa) were out‐planted on 32 patch reefs at two inshore and two offshore locations. Half of the reefs were stocked with crabs. Macroalgal cover on each patch reef along with the survival and growth of out‐planted corals was then monitored during the summer and winter for 2 years. Results: There was no effect of crab stocking on macroalgal cover and crabs had little effect on the growth or survival of A. cervicornis. However, the presence of crabs improved the growth and survival of the two boulder coral species, although the magnitude of those effects varied by reef location. Conclusions: Previous studies have heralded the strong effects that crab grazing has on reducing macroalgae and improving coral recruitment on reefs. The former was not observed in this study, although stocking crabs improved the success of coral out‐planting, with results varying by species and reef location. Implications for Practice: These findings confirm the efficacy of stocking Maguimithrax spinosissimus on Caribbean coral reefs in tandem with coral out‐plants as a strategy for coral reef restoration. However, the magnitude of the effect of crabs on the removal of algae was less pronounced than in previous studies and varied among coral species and between inshore and offshore reefs. Repeated restocking of crabs will be necessary to maintain the high densities required for meaningful reductions in macroalgae. These results highlight the need for coral reef restoration practitioners to tailor restoration strategies according to the idiosyncrasies of reef location and the types of corals targeted for restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Restoration Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/rec.70289 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Coral reef restoration Type: general – SubjectFull: Crabs Type: general – SubjectFull: Reef ecology Type: general – SubjectFull: Coral reefs & islands Type: general – SubjectFull: Caribbean Type: general – SubjectFull: Florida Type: general – SubjectFull: Florida Keys (Fla.) Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Does stocking of grazing crabs (Maguimithrax spinosissimus) facilitate the survival and growth of out‐planted corals? Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Butler, Mark J. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 03 Text: Mar2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10612971 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 34 – Type: issue Value: 3 Titles: – TitleFull: Restoration Ecology Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
