Evaluating the use of live rock in closed-system aquaria with mesophotic corals

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Coral Propagation Technique Development Project
• Personal Author:
  Aquilina-Beck, Allisan ; Rojano, Matthew ; Burdine, William ; Salgado, Enrique ; Greig, Thomas ; Etnoyer, Peter
• Corporate Authors:
  Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees. ; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (U.S.)|https://ror.org/05ba43f71 ; CSS, Inc.
• NOAA Program & Office:
  DWH (Deepwater Horizon) ; NOS (National Ocean Service) ; NCCOS (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science) ; ORR (Office of Response and Restoration) ; CoRIS (Coral Reef Information System)
• Description:
  The use of "live rock," defined as hard substrate consisting of microbial communities capable of breaking down harmful waste by-products, is valued in the aquarium trade and among aquarists. These bacterial communities can improve the health of aquarium inhabitants and the water in which they live. Careful scientific evaluations of the risks and benefits of adding live rocks to experimental aquarium systems are few. This study was conducted to determine the effect of live rock on the health of three octocoral species kept in aquaria: Muricea pendula, Swiftia exserta, and Thesea nivea. The corals were used to assess whether benefits gained by the presence of live rock are also dependent upon the source of the rock. This study documented water quality, coral health and growth, and microbial communities of corals and rocks over six months in experimental aquaria. The results of this investigation will aid husbandry practices for these coral species and others, which are among those injured by the Deepwater Horizon disaster and targeted for restoration.
• Keywords:
  Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Oil Spill Mesophotic And Deep Benthic Communities (MDBC) Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)
• Series:
  NOAA technical memorandum DWH MDBC   004
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.25923/9nrg-fd06
• Format:
  pdf
• Document Type:
  Technical Memorandum
• License:
  https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
• Rights Information:
  CC0 Public Domain
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:05a774d9d19700774eb910146407bd7fed4e05080bc38c9e45ab1959e64269e3270ade923b7aaff502cc75e2a2a7c608d42a40a827a32754d463c8f95d5adcfb
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/74121/noaa_74121_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 6.18 MB ]