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Restoration supports the recovery of ecological attributes such as cover, complexity, and diversity to slow the areal decline of natural ecosystems. Restoration activity is intensifying worldwide to combat persistent stressors that are driving global declines to the extent and resilience of coral reefs. However, restoration is disputed as a meaningful aid to reef ecological recovery, often as an expensive distraction to addressing the root causes of reef loss. We contend this dispute partly stems from inferences drawn from small-scale experimental restoration outcomes amplified by misconceptions around cost-based reasoning. Alongside aggressive emissions reductions, we advocate urgent investment in coral reef ecosystem restoration as part of the management toolbox to combat the destruction of reefs as we know them within decades.

Florida and Caribbean coral reefs are in a state of unprecedented decline. Reefs once dominated by branching, hard-coral species, Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata, have lost upwards of 98% of Acroporid cover in recent decades. This decline is attributed to multiple, compounding factors. As these threats continue, there is a clear need for innovative methods to bolster remaining populations thus signaling to managers that intervention is needed to support recovery of the species. The urgency around coral decline has prompted practitioners to try a variety of restoration techniques. While promising, efforts need to incorporate best-practices of supporting genetic diversity, ecological function, and resiliency for successful coral restoration outcomes. Herein we present novel approaches to coral population enhancement (coral restoration) that blend science and practice. Guided by NOAA’s Acropora Recovery Plan, we have implemented an ambitious restoration plan to outplant 50,700 corals using both Acropora species across eight reefs along the Florida Reef Tract. The restoration strategies presented here are designed to meet several population-based recovery objectives and criteria identified in the Acropora Recovery Plan including: increasing abundance, promoting genetic diversity, promoting recruitment, and disease mitigation (as informed by monitoring).

Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen, by Auyon Mukharji and Jyoti Mukharji is reviewed.