Coral reefs are complex, diverse ecosystems, but how will they respond to increasing anthropogenic and environmental stressors? The Reef Song experiment aimed to explore novel coral reef restoration strategies by testing two experimental treatments. The first treatment involved playing ‘healthy reef’ sounds to attract fish and corals preferentially to settle, while the second treatment investigated the effects of ‘boosting’ the reef community by stocking fish species known to associate closely with live corals. Conducted over three years at two distinct locations, we monitored changes in fish assemblages and analysed these responses using a functional diversity trait approach.
While thriving coral reefs may exhibit high functional redundancy, widespread degradation is expected to affect fish assemblages unevenly, with some species emerging as ‘winners’ and others as ‘losers.’ Conducting experiments in real-world conditions presents unique challenges, particularly when comparing the outcomes at two locations—one relatively healthy and the other severely impacted by coral bleaching. These locations allowed us to assess how fish assemblages responded under different levels of environmental stress.
By utilizing this experimental design, we gained valuable insights into how functional diversity changes in response to coral reef restoration efforts and the functional consequences of declining fish species diversity. These ‘lessons learned’ can inform strategies for scaling human interventions to maximize the benefits of coral reef restoration.