The evidence, permits and sources behind Reef Tribe.

Methods

The library follows the order of work the evidence supports: preserve living reef, clean the water, restore populations, regenerate resilience, and create new structure only where the substrate is gone. Each Reef Zone below covers one part of that order.

Planning and monitoring references: Shaver et al. 2020 (NOAA manager’s guide) and Goergen et al. 2020 (restoration monitoring guide).

Philippine institutions

These are not partners. They are Filipino universities, agencies, programs and NGOs whose published work this library cites. Any future collaboration would be discussed with them directly and announced only once agreed.

• University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI)Bolinao, Pangasinan, and DilimanSource
• Marine Environment and Resources Foundation (MERF)Larval restoration work with ACIARSource
• Silliman University Institute of Environmental and Marine Sciences (SU-IEMS)Dumaguete, Negros OrientalSource
• UP Visayas College of Fisheries and Ocean SciencesReef assessment training, AntiqueSource
• Davao Oriental State University (DOrSU)Pujada Bay, Davao OrientalSource
• Mindanao State University at Naawan, CoReM HubCoral Reef Management hub, Misamis OrientalSource
• Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation (CCEF)Reef structure workshop, Maria, SiquijorSource
• El Nido FoundationCoral Reef Restoration and Education Program, PalawanSource
• Tubbataha Reefs Natural ParkUNESCO World Heritage Site, Sulu SeaSource
• Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI-CFF)Six-country regional partnershipSource

Sources & citations

32 peer-reviewed papers, reviews and reports in the research library, alphabetical by first author. Download BibTeX · Filter by topic

1. Bartley R, et al. (2014). Relating sediment impacts on coral reefs to watershed sources, processes and management: A review. Science of the Total Environment. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.09.030
   Plain-language summary

   Focusing on the Burdekin watershed and the Great Barrier Reef, this review finds that only a small share of eroded sediment reaches mid- and outer-shelf reefs, mainly as clay to fine silt, while coarser material can be stored nearshore and resuspended. Sub-surface erosion is identified as a dominant recent source, and maintaining average ground cover above 75% is likely needed to reduce runoff, though it is unclear whether that alone would bring sediment to ecologically acceptable levels.

2. Bayraktarov E, et al. (2016). The cost and feasibility of marine coastal restoration. Ecological Applications. doi:10.1890/15-1077
   Plain-language summary

   A synthesis of 235 studies and 954 observations across coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves, saltmarshes and oyster reefs found a median reported cost of about US$80,000 per hectare (2010 dollars), with coral reefs among the most expensive habitats to restore and total costs likely two to four times higher than reported. Median survival of restored corals was 64.5%, most projects were short-lived, and success depended more on ecosystem, site and technique than on money spent.

3. Bayraktarov E, et al. (2019). Motivations, success, and cost of coral reef restoration. Restoration Ecology. doi:10.1111/rec.12977
   Plain-language summary

   This systematic review of coral-reef restoration projects found that the main motivation was to advance ecological knowledge and techniques, with a median cost of US$400,000 per hectare (2010 dollars), ranging from about US$6,000/ha for the nursery phase of coral gardening to US$4,000,000/ha for adding artificial-reef substrate. Projects were typically short (1–2 years) and small (about 0.01 ha), and median survival of restored corals was 60.9%.

4. Boström-Einarsson L, et al. (2020). Coral restoration – A systematic review of current methods, successes, failures and future directions. PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226631
   Plain-language summary

   This global systematic review of coral restoration methods, drawing on scientific, grey and practitioner sources, found that most projects are small (median restored area 100 m²), short-term (60% monitored for less than 18 months), and focused on fast-growing branching corals, with reported survival typically between 60 and 70%. The authors conclude that clearer objectives, standardised monitoring and better project design are needed to scale restoration, and that restoration is not a substitute for action on climate change.

5. Cabaitan PC, Yap HT, Gomez ED (2015). Performance of single versus mixed coral species for transplantation to restore degraded reefs. Restoration Ecology. doi:10.1111/rec.12205
   Plain-language summary

   University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute researchers compared single- and mixed-species transplants of Porites cylindrica, Pavona frondifera and Hydnophora rigida on degraded Philippine reefs. P. cylindrica survived well alone or mixed; P. frondifera sometimes did better mixed with P. cylindrica under strong wave action; and predation by crown-of-thorns starfish and Drupella limited results, underscoring the need to choose sites and species with wave action and predators in mind.

6. Chamberland VF, et al. (2015). Restoration of critically endangered elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) populations using larvae reared from wild-caught gametes. Global Ecology and Conservation. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2015.10.005
   Plain-language summary

   This SECORE-linked study reared larvae of critically endangered elkhorn coral from wild-caught gametes and outplanted the settlers onto reefs. It demonstrates that sexual propagation from wild spawn can be used to produce new Acropora palmata recruits for restoration of this Caribbean species.

7. Chamberland VF, et al. (2017). New Seeding Approach Reduces Costs and Time to Outplant Sexually Propagated Corals for Reef Restoration. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-17555-z
   Plain-language summary

   SECORE researchers settled coral larvae on tetrapod-shaped concrete units and 'seeded' them into reef crevices without manually attaching each unit, in a small fraction of the time required for traditional outplanting. After one year, average recruit survival was 9.6% and 67% of tetrapods still held at least one colony, with a 5- to 18-fold reduction in outplanting costs.

8. Cooper TF, Gilmour JP, Fabricius KE (2009). Bioindicators of changes in water quality on coral reefs: review and recommendations for monitoring programmes. Coral Reefs. doi:10.1007/s00338-009-0512-x
   Plain-language summary

   The authors reviewed 21 candidate bioindicators linking water quality to reef condition and selected 11 for long-term monitoring of chronic change, including coral photophysiology and tissue traits, skeletal chemistry, bioeroders, foraminifera, recruitment, macroalgal cover, coral taxonomic richness and the maximum depth of reef development. A shorter set of seven, including partial mortality, is recommended for assessing acute impacts, with the final choice depending on programme objectives and timeframe.

9. dela Cruz DW, Harrison PL (2017). Enhanced larval supply and recruitment can replenish reef corals on degraded reefs. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-14546-y
   Plain-language summary

   On degraded reefs in the northwestern Philippines, the authors introduced about 400,000 Acropora tenuis larvae into mesh-enclosed plots and recorded high initial settlement, while control plots received no settlers. After three years, a mean of 2.3 colonies per square metre survived in enhanced plots, grew rapidly and spawned, whereas natural recruitment produced no visible new A. tenuis colonies.

10. dela Cruz DW, Harrison PL (2020). Enhancing coral recruitment through assisted mass settlement of cultured coral larvae. PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0242847
    Plain-language summary

    In the Bolinao-Anda Reef Complex in the northwestern Philippines, about 300,000 cultured Acropora loripes larvae were added to each of three reef plots. Settlement on tiles was high in larval-enhancement plots and zero in controls, and 47 colonies still survived on the reef after 35 months, at an estimated production cost of USD 35.20 per colony.

11. Fabricius KE (2005). Effects of terrestrial runoff on the ecology of corals and coral reefs: review and synthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.11.028
    Plain-language summary

    This review separates how four water-quality stressors—dissolved inorganic nutrients, particulate organic matter, turbidity-related light reduction, and sedimentation—affect coral growth and survival, reproduction and recruitment, and interacting organisms such as algae, bioeroders, pathogens and predators. It also summarises geographic and biological factors that shape resistance and resilience, as a framework for judging how changing coastal water quality is likely to alter reefs.

12. Forsman ZH, Page CA, Toonen RJ, Vaughan D (2015). Growing coral larger and faster: micro-colony-fusion as a strategy for accelerating coral cover. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.1313
    Plain-language summary

    Small (about 1–3 cm²) fragments from the same colony, spaced on ceramic tiles, spread rapidly and then fused, producing tissue-area growth as high as 63, 48 and 23 cm² per month in Orbicella faveolata, Pseudodiploria clivosa and Porites lobata, respectively. The authors conclude that this micro-colony-fusion behaviour can be used for coral cultivation and reef restoration.

13. Gill DA, et al. (2017). Capacity shortfalls hinder the performance of marine protected areas globally. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature21708
    Plain-language summary

    This global analysis finds that shortfalls in management capacity hinder the conservation performance of marine protected areas. The result underscores that designating protected areas is not enough on its own: how well they are staffed and resourced affects whether protection succeeds.

14. Goergen EA, et al. (2020). Coral reef restoration monitoring guide: Methods to evaluate restoration success from local to ecosystem scales. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 279. doi:10.25923/xndz-h538
    Plain-language summary

    Prepared by the Coral Restoration Consortium Monitoring Working Group with NOAA, this guide sets out standardised universal metrics (from landscape to genetic scales, plus the environment) and goal-based performance metrics for ecological, socioeconomic, event-driven, climate-adaptation and research goals. It is intended to help practitioners measure progress toward restoration goals and compare results among projects, programs and regions.

15. González-Rivero M, Dallison T, et al. (eds.) (2026). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2025. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network / International Coral Reef Initiative. doi:10.59387/LFPR6347
    Plain-language summary

    The seventh GCRMN assessment, covering 1980–2024, identifies climate-driven marine heatwaves and global bleaching events as the primary cause of the global decline in hard coral cover, with major declines aligned with 1998, 2010, 2016 and 2023–24. Of ten regions, four were in long-term decline, four showed no net change and two increased; the report also notes a relative ~6% recovery in global hard coral cover between 2017 and 2019, and warns that bleaching every 5–6 years is expected to keep reefs declining unless emissions cuts are combined with local management.

16. Hein MY, et al. (2017). The need for broader ecological and socioeconomic tools to evaluate the effectiveness of coral restoration programs. Restoration Ecology. doi:10.1111/rec.12580
    Plain-language summary

    A review of 83 coral-transplantation studies found that 88% judged success mainly by fragment growth and survival, 53% monitored for a year or less, and only 5% monitored for more than five years. The authors propose ten socioecological indicators spanning environmental, sociocultural, governance and economic dimensions so that restoration is evaluated as a tool for sustainable communities, not only short-term coral survival.

17. Hein MY, et al. (2020). Coral Reef Restoration as a Strategy to Improve Ecosystem Services: A Guide to Coral Restoration Methods. United Nations Environment Programme. Link
    Plain-language summary

    Prepared for UNEP and ICRI, this guide reviews coral restoration methods in the context of maintaining ecosystem services as reefs decline under climate and local pressures. It notes that restoration is increasingly used in management and in meeting international commitments, but that evidence of its effectiveness in sustaining ecosystem services is still limited.

18. Hein MY, et al. (2021). Perspectives on the Use of Coral Reef Restoration as a Strategy to Support and Improve Reef Ecosystem Services. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.618303
    Plain-language summary

    This synthesis of UNEP/ICRI restoration guidelines argues that restoration can support reef resilience at local scales, especially where recruitment is limited and disturbances can be managed, but should not be treated as a silver bullet. The authors recommend using restoration alongside broader resilience strategies, with realistic goals, stakeholder engagement, and caution given limited evidence of long-term, ecologically relevant success.

19. Hughes TP, et al. (2017). Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature21707
    Plain-language summary

    The paper documents the 2015–2016 global coral-bleaching event and compares bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 1998, 2002 and 2016, which followed distinct sea-temperature patterns. It finds that the 2016 event was unprecedented in scale, that local water quality and fishing pressure had little influence on its severity, and that preventing further warming is essential if reefs are to be preserved.

20. Hughes TP, et al. (2018). Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0041-2
    Plain-language summary

    After the 2016 Great Barrier Reef marine heatwave, corals began dying once accumulated heat exceeded about 3–4 °C-weeks, and exposure of 6 °C-weeks or more drove a regional shift in coral assemblages within eight months. Fast-growing staghorn and tabular corals suffered a catastrophic die-off that transformed the structure and function of 29% of the 3,863 reefs in the system.

21. Hughes TP, et al. (2018). Spatial and temporal patterns of mass bleaching of corals in the Anthropocene. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aan8048
    Plain-language summary

    Using records from 100 reefs worldwide, the authors show that the average interval between mass bleaching events is now less than half of what it was before anthropogenic warming, leaving less time for reefs to recover. They also note that El Niño events and background ocean temperatures are warmer than in the past, making recovery between stressful events increasingly difficult.

22. Knoester EG, et al. (2024). Negative effects by mineral accretion technique on the heat resilience, growth and recruitment of corals. PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0315475
    Plain-language summary

    In a one-year Kenyan trial that included a marine heatwave, corals on electrically charged mineral-accretion tables bleached more severely than controls, and three of four species lost live tissue faster and more severely on charged tables. After a year the control structures had 34 coral recruits and the mineral-accretion tables had none, leading the authors to advise against using this commonly applied MAT setting to improve growth, condition, heat resilience or recruitment, though it may still help prevent corrosion of metal structures.

23. Lirman D, Schopmeyer S (2016). Ecological solutions to reef degradation: optimizing coral reef restoration in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.2597
    Plain-language summary

    The authors describe the shift in the Caribbean and Western Atlantic from costly engineering-based reef repair toward coral gardening, in which practitioners now grow and outplant tens of thousands of corals each year. They review how to establish a gardening program and argue that this ecological approach can aid species recovery, provide education and alternative livelihoods, and open restoration to a wider community of practitioners.

24. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2019). A Research Review of Interventions to Increase the Persistence and Resilience of Coral Reefs. National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/25279
    Plain-language summary

    This National Academies review assesses novel coral-reef interventions, including stress-hardening, translocation, manipulation of coral symbionts, managed selection, genetic modification, and local environmental engineering. It evaluates the scientific readiness of these approaches and outlines a risk-assessment and decision framework for testing and possible use under rapidly deteriorating ocean conditions.

25. Page CA, Muller EM, Vaughan DE (2018). Microfragmenting for the successful restoration of slow growing massive corals. Ecological Engineering. doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.08.017
    Plain-language summary

    Mote Marine Laboratory researchers outplanted arrays of about 1 cm² microfragments of Orbicella faveolata and Montastraea cavernosa in the Florida Keys and compared them with larger fragments over 31 months, including two bleaching events. Survival and growth did not differ overall, but when plots with heavy predation were excluded, O. faveolata microfragment arrays produced about ten times more tissue than the larger fragments, suggesting the method can work if predation is reduced.

26. Randall CJ, et al. (2020). Sexual production of corals for reef restoration in the Anthropocene. Marine Ecology Progress Series. doi:10.3354/meps13206
    Plain-language summary

    This AIMS-led review summarises knowledge of sexual reproduction in reef-building corals, especially broadcast spawners, as a way to scale restoration beyond asexual fragmentation. It identifies knowledge gaps and bottlenecks that still limit the use of sexually produced corals at reef and reef-system scales.

27. Sabater MG, Yap HT (2002). Growth and survival of coral transplants with and without electrochemical deposition of CaCO3. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(02)00051-5
    Plain-language summary

    In a controlled field experiment at Quezon Island in the northern Philippines, Porites cylindrica nubbins grown with electrochemical mineral accretion had higher six-month survival (86% versus 70%) and greater girth growth than unstimulated transplants, but similar linear growth, and both groups grew and survived less well than adjacent natural colonies. The study provides an early experimental test of mineral-accretion methods later associated with Biorock-style restoration.

28. Schlecker L, Page C, Matz M, Wright RM (2022). Mechanisms and potential immune tradeoffs of accelerated coral growth induced by microfragmentation. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.13158
    Plain-language summary

    Experiments on Orbicella faveolata and Montastraea cavernosa confirmed that smaller starting fragments grew faster after four months in a raceway, and linked faster growth to genes involved in biomineralization. Enzyme assays and gene expression also pointed to a possible tradeoff between this accelerated growth and immune investment, which the authors say should be studied further before and after outplanting.

29. Shaver EC, et al. (2020). A Manager's Guide to Coral Reef Restoration Planning and Design. NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP 36. doi:10.25923/vht9-tv39
    Plain-language summary

    This NOAA and Reef Resilience Network guide walks reef managers through a six-step adaptive-management cycle for planning, designing, implementing and monitoring coral reef restoration, leading to a Restoration Action Plan. It emphasises goal-based site and intervention choices and the need to account for climate change so that restoration complements, rather than replaces, existing conservation.

30. Souter D, Planes S, et al. (eds.) (2021). Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2020. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network / International Coral Reef Initiative. doi:10.59387/WOTJ9184
    Plain-language summary

    This sixth GCRMN global assessment, based on almost two million observations from more than 12,000 sites in 73 countries, found that the 1998 bleaching event alone killed 8% of the world's coral and that further disturbances between 2009 and 2018 killed 14%. It also reports that reefs can recover when conditions allow, and that the East Asian Seas region, including the Coral Triangle, had on average more coral in 2019 than in 1983 despite recent bleaching.

31. van Oppen MJH, et al. (2015). Building coral reef resilience through assisted evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1422301112
    Plain-language summary

    The authors argue that climate change may be outpacing corals' natural capacity to adapt, and they review the risks and benefits of accelerating naturally occurring processes—an approach they call assisted evolution—to increase stress tolerance. They advocate carefully designed experiments and a public dialogue before such approaches are used in conservation and restoration.

32. van Oppen MJH, et al. (2017). Shifting paradigms in restoration of the world's coral reefs. Global Change Biology. doi:10.1111/gcb.13647
    Plain-language summary

    Building on earlier assisted-evolution proposals, this paper describes options such as selective breeding, assisted gene flow, conditioning or epigenetic programming, and microbiome manipulation to improve coral stress tolerance and restoration success. The authors also discuss alternative or hybrid ecosystem states and propose a decision tree for when to incorporate assisted evolution into climate-resilient restoration.

Other sources cited on this site

• El Nido Foundation, Coral Reef Restoration and Education Program
• UP MSI coral cryobank announcement
• MERF / ACIAR coral larval restoration project
• Downs et al. 2016, oxybenzone effects on coral planulae
• Fabricius 2005, terrestrial runoff and coral reefs
• GCRMN, Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2020
• Boström-Einarsson et al. 2020
• Gill et al. 2017, MPA management capacity
• Hughes et al. 2017
• Hughes et al. 2018, reef assemblages
• Hughes et al. 2018, bleaching intervals
• Cabaitan et al. 2015, Philippine coral transplantation
• dela Cruz and Harrison 2017, larval enhancement in NW Philippines
• dela Cruz and Harrison 2020, Bolinao–Anda larval settlement
• Page, Muller and Vaughan 2018, microfragmentation
• Forsman et al. 2015, micro-colony fusion
• van Oppen et al. 2015, assisted evolution
• van Oppen et al. 2017
• National Academies 2019, reef interventions
• Sabater and Yap 2002, mineral accretion in the northern Philippines
• Knoester et al. 2024, mineral accretion caution
• Goergen et al. 2020, restoration monitoring guide
• Shaver et al. 2020, manager's guide
• Hein et al. 2017
• Hein et al. 2021
• Bayraktarov et al. 2019
• Bartley et al. 2014, sediment and watersheds
• Cooper et al. 2009, water-quality bioindicators
• AIMS, Assisted evolution
• SECORE Foundation, implementation
• Mote Marine Laboratory, coral program news
• Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security
• Green Fins (UNEP / The Reef-World Foundation)
• Reef Check
• Russ et al. 2004, marine reserve benefits local fisheries (Apo and Sumilon, Negros Oriental)
• Russ and Alcala 1999, management histories of Sumilon and Apo marine reserves
• Carpenter and Springer 2005, the Philippines as the “center of the center” of marine shore-fish biodiversity
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
• Silliman University, 10 Dec 2025 — SU-IEMS coral reef restoration research
• Silliman University, 29 Jun 2026 — SU-IEMS fish visual census training, Davao Oriental
• DORSU, 23 Jul 2025 — Pujada Bay artificial reef results
• UP Visayas CFOS-IMFO, coral reef assessment training in Antique
• CCEF, Aug 2024 — 3D-printed clay reef workshop, Maria, Siquijor
• MSU at Naawan, Coral Reef Management (CoReM) Hub
• Palawan News, 6 June 2024 — Port Barton coral larvae release (ACIAR, San Vicente LGU, UP MSI, SCU, WPU)
• Palawan News, 13 Oct 2025 — WPU, DENR-MIMAROPA and PSU MOA for El Nido research stations
• Blancpain Ocean Commitment, Feb 2025 — Sulubaaï / Pangatalan, Taytay
• Malampaya Foundation, 2023 Chairman’s Report
• Malampaya Foundation, 2025 Chairman’s Report
• ACIAR project FIS/2024/120, SE Asia coral larval restoration network

Summary

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