Fig 1.
A) Satellite-derived estimates of heat stress exposure (Degree Heating Weeks, as of 1 Oct 2023; from https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/data/5km/v3.1_op/image/daily/dhw/png/2023/10/ct5km_dhw_v3.1_caribbean_20231001.png) across the Caribbean with the estimated maxima for the five study regions (MEX: Puerto Morelos, Mexico; DR: Bayahíbe, Dominican Republic; STX: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; CUR: Curaçao; BON: Bonaire). B) Image of bleaching-resistant Assisted Recruit (red circle) adjacent to bleaching or recently dead adult conspecific (white circle) of Acropora palmata (Dominican Republic; photo M.Villalpando).
Table 1.
Information for the surveyed Assisted Recruits (AR; derived from coral breeding efforts for restoration) and various comparison populations (WC: Wild conspecific adults at the same site as AR; PAR: Parental site conspecifics; WA: Wild adult assemblage at the same site as AR; WJ: Wild juvenile assemblage at same site as AR; F: small colonies derived from fragment (asexual) propagation) across the five regions (MEX: Puerto Morelos, Mexico; DR: Bayahibe, Dominican Republic; STX: St. Croix, US Virgin Islands; CUR: Curacao; BON: Bonaire).
Maximum Degree Heating Weeks (DHW, units°C-weeks) estimated from nearest NOAA Coral Reef Watch ‘virtual stations’, https://coralreefwatch.noaa.gov/product/vs/data.php). Ofav: Orbicella faveolata; Oann: O. annularis; Dlab: Diploria labyrinthiformis; Apal: Acropora palmata; Cnat: Colpophyllia natans; Pstr: Pseudodiploria strigosa.
Fig 2.
Bleaching and mortality responses for the six species propagated for restoration.
A) Cumulative colony condition for Assisted Recruits (AR; derived from coral breeding efforts for restoration) and all comparison population types pooled across sites. Sample size for each group is given above the stacked bars. B) Subsets of data from A) that are parsed by the six species for which AR existed. C) Differences in Bleaching and Mortality Index (BMI) between AR and conspecific comparison colonies. Estimates of the mean BMI (points) and SE (bars) are based on a binomial GLMM in the form: BMI ~ AR-Comp * Species, accounting for differences among regions, sites, and comparison population type (random intercepts). Statistical significance of pairwise comparisons by species are shown for P < 0.05 (*), P < 0.01 (**), and P < 0.001 (***).
Fig 3.
Summary of bleaching and mortality responses of subsets of data relating to specific hypotheses.
A) A. palmata Assisted Recruits (AR) compared to small A. palmata colonies propagated by fragmentation at the same site in Dominican Republic. B) One cohort of adult A. palmata derived from AR in Mexico compared to its parental site. C) Comparing juvenile AR with colonies from their parental sites (PAR) for three species where the comparison was possible (Acropora palmata from Mexico, Diploria labyrinthiformis pooled from Mexico and St. Croix, and Pseudodiploria strigosa from St. Croix) is not consistent with the hypothesis that thermal tolerance is inherited. Sample size for each group is given above the stacked bar.