Coral heat tolerance studies inform new restoration project in American Samoa

Multiple institutes are starting a project to help grow coral restoration capacity in American Samoa, leveraging more than two decades of coral heat tolerance studies to inform the approach.

The $4.6 million project will bring local agencies and village leaders together with partners from the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, American Samoa Community College, American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, and Old Dominion University to focus on restoring healthy coral reefs and training the next generation of natural resource managers.

Within inhabited U.S. waters, American Samoa has some of the healthiest coral reefs that are exceptionally heat tolerant and the world’s oldest continuously monitored coral reef transect, making it an excellent coral reef study site.

Researchers have made progress in understanding the environmental and genetic drivers of heat-tolerant corals.

According to Kelley Anderson Tagarino, an extension agent of the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program in American Samoa and co-lead on the project, heat tolerance is key for coral survival due to the increase in marine heatwaves causing mass coral bleaching.

“By ensuring some of the corals in our restoration nurseries are heat tolerant, we can help our reefs have a better chance to withstand marine heatwaves,” Tagarino said. “American Samoa has long been known to have highly resilient corals, and now we will be able to weave together local knowledge with Western science to help our reefs continue to protect our islands and feed our people.”

The project was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Zone Management Program and includes funding for three graduate student positions for residents of American Samoa to study coral restoration at either the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa or Old Dominion University.

Oceana Francis, a professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and coastal sustainability faculty with the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program, will provide critical project support by conducting hydrodynamic modeling, which is understanding how ocean water moves.

Hydrodynamic modeling will help identify suitable places for the restoration nurseries as well as which shorelines are at most risk for flooding. These areas will be prioritized for coral restoration outplanting.

Funding will also support local positions focused on coral restoration in partnership with the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources and a continuation of the American Samoa Community College Swim and Snorkel program.

The Swim and Snorkel program trains youth in swim and snorkel techniques and provides basic water safety training, empowering the next generation of ocean users and reducing barriers to joining projects like coral restoration.

For questions on the project, email Tagarino at kelleyat@hawaii.edu.