Coral Regeneration Assay

Coral wound‐regeneration assays provide an insight into the physiological condition of corals and have successfully detected differences in coral condition at small spatial scales. Coral wounds and their regeneration rates can be used as indicators of impacts from environmental stress because they are a generalized response to a range of stressors. Relative to linear growth rates and community assessments, wound‐regeneration assays have a relatively quick response of weeks to months depending on the average regeneration rates of the species being evaluated. A caveat when using this indicator is that it is not capable of separating effects of coral health versus external environmental factors (e.g., sedimentation, temperature, pollution) on wound‐regeneration rates. It should be noted that the intrinsic and extrinsic factors (e.g., colony and wound characteristics) can affect regeneration rates and should be minimized