Selecting coral species for reef restoration

The rate and extent of contemporary environmental change have led to significant deviations from historical ecosystem states, necessitating a shift from relying solely on protection to active restoration.

Ecosystem restoration, achieved through human intervention, aims to recover degraded ecosystems toward their preferred previous conditions, employing direct interventions like habitat builder propagation and indirect measures such as structural stabilization and invasive species removal.

Traditionally, restoration focused on a few key species, but climate change now affects foundation species in diverse ecosystems, necessitating a broader restoration approach.

Selecting species for restoration has typically considered roles in ecosystem services, keystone status, or fast-growing pioneers, but comprehensive criteria are rare.

To address this, a hedging approach is proposed, balancing species' value to the ecosystem against future extinction risk amid environmental uncertainty, thereby maximizing restoration success in changing environments.

Incorporating hedging into species selection should become integral to ecosystem restoration strategies.