International Journal of Marine Science, 2024, Vol.14, No.5, 321-331 http://www.aquapublisher.com/index.php/ijms 326 Figure 4 Condition of A. aspera, A. muricataand M. digitatacolonies (n = 15 per depth) in different nurseries design, at ⁓2 and ⁓5 m, at T0 (September) and in November, January and March 2024 (6 months in total). D/L, dead or lost, H1- less than 50% living tissue on the fragment, H2- more than 50% living coral tissue, H3- fragments with 100% living tissue. One-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post hoc test (P<0.05). Chi-square and Fisher's exact test (P< 0.05). N = 15 3 Discussion Our study offers valuable insights into the impact of nursery design and depth on coral growth and overall health, with implications for coral restoration practices in shallow lagoons. The higher coral growth at ⁓2 m observed in this study confirms that shallower depths provide better conditions for coral growth due to increased light availability and higher temperatures, which are critical for photosynthesis and coral metabolism (Kahng et al., 2011; Hughes et al., 2018). The lack of significant differences in growth rates between rope-based and table-based nurseries at each depth suggests that the design of the nursery may not be as critical as the depth in influencing growth rates, as previously reported by Edmunds and Elahi (2007). Environmental factors like light and water quality may play a more substantial role in coral growth than the specific nursery design used. The higher ecological volume reported for rope-based nurseries suggests that the rope design might contribute to a more beneficial microhabitat for this species, as supported by previous research demonstrating that ecological volume can be influenced by both the depth and the structural complexity of the nursery (Baker and Vize, 2015; Rogers et al., 2020). It is possible that the increased space available on ropes compared to table-based nurseries facilitates better coral growth. Despite this, coral health remained unaffected by depth or nursery design suggesting that corals can maintain good health if environmental conditions remain within tolerable ranges (Hughes et al., 2012). A key finding of our study was the absence of predation in rope-based nurseries. This study confirmed that nursery design can influence the level of predation, with structures like ropes offering fewer
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