Study

Coral farming: Effects of light, water motion and artificial foods

  • Published source details Forsman Z.H., Kimokeo B.K., Bird C.E., Hunter C.L. & Toonen R.J. (2012) Coral farming: Effects of light, water motion and artificial foods. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92, 721-729.

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

Action Category

Cultivate corals in an ex-situ nursery

Action Link
Coral Conservation

Cultivate corals in an ex-situ nursery

Action Link
Coral Conservation

Cultivate corals in an ex-situ nursery

Action Link
Coral Conservation
  1. Cultivate corals in an ex-situ nursery

    A replicated, randomized, controlled study in 2006 at a laboratory in Hawaii, USA (Forsman et al. 2012) reported that almost all stony coral Porites compressa and Montipora capitata nubbins (small fragments) cultivated under different levels of shade and water flow rates survived and grew. After 41 days, 478/480 (99.4%) of fragments survived. Under low water flow, growth rate of P. compressa fragments was highest (0.65 mm increase) under direct sunlight (0× shade) and lowest (0.36 mm increase) under the most shade (3×). Conversely, growth rate of M. capitata fragments was lowest in 0× shade (0.03 mm) and highest in 1× and 2× shade (both 0.16 mm) and 3× shade (0.08 mm). Under high water flow, growth rate was slightly lower than for low water flow and varied between different shading although results were not significantly different for either species (Porites compressa: 0.44–0.52 mm; Montipora capitata: 0.02–0.11 mm). In 2006, eighty nubbins (1 cm2) were collected from each of three colonies of P. compressa and M. capitata and placed in alternating rows on 1 cm2 plastic mesh (15 nubbins/species/mesh). Mesh sheets were placed into one of 16 buckets and randomly assigned to one of four shade treatments under either high (~11 cm/s) or low (~4 cm/s) water flow. Shade was provided by using layers of 50% shade cloth (1x, 2x, and 3x, and a 0x control). Buckets were cleaned and all nubbins were photographed weekly. Growth (area) was measured after 19 and 41 days.

    (Summarised by: Ann Thornton)

  2. Cultivate corals in an ex-situ nursery

    A replicated, randomized, controlled study in 2006–2007 at a laboratory in Hawaii, USA (Forsman et al. 2012) found that providing additional food to ex-situ cultivated stony coral Montipora capitata and Porites damicornis nubbins (small fragments) led to an increase in weight compared to unfed nubbins but there was no difference for Porites compressa. After three months, average overall weight increase (all species) was significantly higher for nubbins in tanks with unfiltered seawater fed with Reef Chili® (6.5%) and Reef-Roids® (7.5%) compared to unfed nubbins (2.1%). Weight increase for nubbins in tanks fed with Oyster Eggs® (2.7%) and Roti-Feast® (3.1%) were not significantly different from unfed nubbins. Nubbins of M. capitata fed additional food showed the highest increase in weight (fed: 0.06–0.14; unfed: 0.02), and P. damicornis (fed: -0.03–0.04; unfed: -0.02) whereas weight change was similar for fed and unfed P. compressa (fed: 0.02–0.07; unfed: 0.06). Ten tanks were set up, each with 18 nubbins (6 fragments/species) on plastic mesh. Fragments were collected from wild-growing stony coral M. capitata, P. damicornis and P. compressa colonies. Tanks were randomly assigned to one of four feeding treatments (Oyster Eggs®, Roti-Feast®, Reef Chili®, and Reef-Roids®) or the unfed control (two tanks/treatment). Corals were fed four times/week according to manufacturers’ recommendations for 12 weeks. Measurements of wet weight (g) and displacement (ml) for each nubbin were taken at the start of the experiment and again three months later.

    (Summarised by: Ann Thornton)

  3. Cultivate corals in an ex-situ nursery

    A replicated, randomized, controlled study in 2006 at a laboratory in Hawaii, USA (Forsman et al. 2012) found that stony coral Porites compressa and Montipora capitata nubbins (small fragments) cultivated in an ex-situ nursery with additional food supplements survived and grew and there was no difference in growth between fed and unfed nubbins, but growth varied with higher doses of supplements. After 45 days, 99% of P. compressa and 51% of M. capitata fragments had survived. Tissue growth had increased by 65% (P. compressa) and 35% (M. capitata). There was no difference in average net growth after 45 days for fragments fed with the recommended dose of supplements (P. compressa: 0.73 cm2; M. capitata: 0.35 cm2) compared to unfed fragments (P. compressa 0.70 cm2; M. capitata: 0.37 cm2) but net growth of M. capitata decreased with higher doses of supplements (3× dose: 0.32 cm2, 10× dose: 0.26 cm2). In October 2006, nubbins from P. compressa and M. capitata colonies (240 nubbins/species) were attached to 6 × 6 inch ceramic tiles (15 nubbins/species/tile) using marine epoxy. Tiles were placed into one of 16 buckets (18 L) and randomly assigned to one of three feeding treatments (1x manufacturers’ recommended dosage, 3 × recommended, 10 × recommended) or the unfed control. Food supplements (comprising MicroVert®, MarineSnow Plankton Diet®, Phytoplan®, and Salifert Coral Food®) were provided with seawater filtered through a 500 µmfilter. Buckets were cleaned and nubbins photographed each week. Coral tissue area was measured using scaled photographs. Area measurements were taken at the start of the experiment and 45 days later.

    (Summarised by: Ann Thornton)

Output references
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

More about What Works in Conservation

Download free PDF or purchase
The Conservation Evidence Journal

The Conservation Evidence Journal

An online, free to publish in, open-access journal publishing results from research and projects that test the effectiveness of conservation actions.

Read the latest volume: Volume 22

Go to the CE Journal

Discover more on our blog

Our blog contains the latest news and updates from the Conservation Evidence team, the Conservation Evidence Journal, and our global partners in evidence-based conservation.


Who uses Conservation Evidence?

Meet some of the Evidence Champions

Endangered Landscape ProgrammeRed List Champion - Arc Kent Wildlife Trust The Rufford Foundation Mauritian Wildlife Supporting Conservation Leaders
Sustainability Dashboard National Biodiversity Network Frog Life The international journey of Conservation - Oryx Cool Farm Alliance UNEP AWFA Bat Conservation InternationalPeople trust for endangered species Vincet Wildlife Trust