A hotter reef did not consistently reward corals transplanted close to home
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
At four St. Thomas sites researchers followed 128 reciprocally transplanted Orbicella annularis fragments during extreme 2023 marine heating above 20 degree-heating-weeks. Bleaching was widespread. Neither source population nor deployment site showed a consistent overall benefit, and much observed mortality clustered in one array.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Local sourcing can matter, but its value cannot be inferred from a locality label alone. Restoration trials should separate genotype, nursery history, microhabitat and site-specific exposure while recording the distribution of failures.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
This was one species in one strong heat event. Mortality patterns were spatially clustered, and small subgroup differences are not proof of a general absence of local adaptation or transplantation effect.
SOURCE
Frontiers in Marine Science · St. Thomas coral reciprocal transplant
View original evidence ↗
An Orbicella annularis field experiment found extensive bleaching but no reliable overall home-site advantage.
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