Tag: Coral Reef Species & Ecology

Coral Reef Species & Ecology, Research Summary

Learning about Symbiodinium

elauervose

One of the many reasons coral reefs are so remarkable is the symbiotic relationship between the heterotrophic coral species and the unicellular algae most commonly known as "zooxanthellae". The term "zooxanthellae" is used to refer to an enormous and incredibly diverse group of endo-symbionts including many diatoms and dinoflagellates. This is confusing as it generalizes taxonomically diverse symbiotic relationships. The Symbiodinium are part of the Phylum Dinophyta (Dinoflagellates) and the clade Alveolates. Because of the diversity of species and the complexity of clades and taxonomic groupings for these organisms, they are better and more accurately referred to by their genus “Symbiodinium” which encompasses an enormous group of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates.

Coral Reef Species & Ecology

Citizen Science with Coral Restoration Foundation

elauervose

Not long after I got certified to scuba dive, I learned about the Coral Restoration Foundation. CRF is a really exciting and amazing organization dedicated to "actively restoring coral reefs on a massive scale, educating others on the importance of our oceans, and using science to further coral research and coral reef monitoring techniques." While… Continue reading Citizen Science with Coral Restoration Foundation

Coral Reef Species & Ecology

Coral Kindergartens with SECORE International

elauervose

I was deep in a research rabbit hole because I had read that there are some concerns around the idea of coral restoration through nurseries alone. The nurseries often rely on coral organism’s’ ability to reproduce through cloning. A single fragment off of a larger coral can be replanted where it will grow into a new coral individual that is genetically identical to the original coral. If a majority of coral is being raised in nurseries and out-planted from only a few genetic strains, coral populations lose genetic diversity causes all sorts of problems. All this had me wondering, how do coral reproduce?