Ecosystem restoration in marine environments faces increasing challenges due to the intensification of climate-related stressors, particularly thermal anomalies. As part of the RENOVATE project (Ecosystem Approach to the Evaluation and Experimentation of Compensation and Mitigation Actions in the Marine Environment: the case of the Civitavecchia Port Hub), we implemented a pilot coral restoration intervention in the coastal waters of Santa Marinella (Mano Aperta site, northern Latium), focusing on two species of the Mediterranean coralligenous assemblage: Cladocora caespitosa and Eunicella cavolini. The fragments used for restoration (120 and 60, respectively) originated from bycatch collected through small-scale local fishing in the ports of Civitavecchia and Santa Marinella and were kept for recovery in a controlled environment prior to reintroduction.

Survival is the primary indicator to be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of ecological restoration activities, especially in the case of benthic habitats and ecosystem-engineering organisms such as corals. Following reintroduction, the organisms were monitored monthly to assess a range of vital descriptors including necrosis, bleaching, tissue loss, and color fading.
Continuous temperature data were recorded at the depth of the restoration pilot site to better interpret coral performance patterns.

We present the first results of this activity, including data on coral survivorship and thermal anomalies recorded at the restoration site. These results represent a crucial step toward understanding the environmental thresholds that influence coralligenous restoration outcomes in the Mediterranean and offer valuable insights for refining protocols in future interventions under climate stress scenarios.