Evaluation of active restoration through the reef functional index in reefs of the Islas Marietas National Park

Abstract

Background. Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems, in addition to providing highly valuable geo-ecological functions. However, they are affected by various environmental stressors, as well as those of anthropogenic origin. In response to the above, active restoration measures have been implemented, as in the case of the coral community of the Islas Marietas National Park (PNIM). Goals. This work aims to evaluate the effect of coral restoration on physical functionality (FF) by using the reef functional index (IFA), in PNIM reefs in the years 2014 and 2021. Methods. The IFA was used as a FF metric, since it is a more comple-te way of evaluating it. The IFA considers three ecological attributes: coral cover (CC), calcification rate, and structural complexity. The IFA was calculated at two sites within the PNIM, differentiating between restored (R) and unrestored (NR) transects. Results. The reefs showed a greater increase (%) in the R transects for both sites, both in the CC and in the FF, the CC increased between 139-173% and the FF between 31-34%. In contrast to the NR transects where the increase was 9-31% in CC and 8-25% in FF. Conclusion. The data from this study reveal that the restoration in the PNIM using fragments of pociloporids is being effective in terms of physical functionality. Due to the high contribution to the FF that the genus has, the reef structure is being recovered to a greater extent in transects with active restoration compared to transects in which there is no intervention.