2026/02/24 by Gemma M. Gillette, Emma Camp, John Edmondson +5 · 1 voice
Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies #Marine and fisheries research
paper · doi:10.3354/meps15141
Deployment of coral nurseries by stakeholder-led coral propagation practices has been increasingly adopted on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) to meet an urgent need for enhanced ecological resilience at targeted reef sites. While coral propagation techniques using various nursery designs have been established for decades, limited research has explored how these structures interact with reef fish assemblages that perform key ecological functions. To examine fish responses to nursery coral structures widely used on the northern GBR, 48 floating mid-water nurseries with varying coral compositions were evaluated across 7 moorings at 4 reefs using short-format video (9 min) surveys benchmarked against long-format video (60 min) surveys. Across surveys, we explored the extent to which nurseries have developed into novel habitats that support diverse fish assemblages. GoPro® surveys recorded over 2333 fishes from 24 families, with Acanthuridae observed in 72% of all surveys, Scarinae in 69%, and Pomacentridae in 53%. Nursery coral cover ranged from 0-75% and was the main determinant of fish abundance, which also increased with greater coral and morphological richness. However, fish diversity and richness showed no clear pattern with coral composition on nursery structures. These findings suggest that maintaining higher coral cover and a diversity of coral morphologies may enhance fish abundance on nurseries; however, further research is needed to determine how fish diversity influences nursery outcomes, particularly in relation to coral growth and survival. We consider these findings alongside long-standing coral reef ecological research to discuss the potential functional value and broader appreciation of fish assemblages in coral nursery propagation practices.