Over the weekend, I took a trip to Nassau and Freeport,
Bahamas.
During my snorkel excursion in Nassau, I swam to the shore
and found a washed up piece of coral.
The scientific name of the coral species I found is Plexaura homomalla, also known as Caribbean Sea Whip or Black Sea Rod Coral. This kind of coral is located in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, and South Florida.
Kingdom:
|
Animalia
|
Phylum:
|
Cnidaria
|
Class:
|
Anthozoa
|
Subclass:
|
Octocorallia
|
Order:
|
Alcyonacea
|
Suborder:
|
Holaxonia
|
Family:
|
Plexauridae
|
Genus:
Species: |
Plexaura
homomalla |
After cutting the coral into multiple pieces (trying to get
them to same size as possible), I will have multiple containers of water with
different amounts of pH. To make to the water more acidic, I will need to buy an
aquarium pharmaceutical product that lowers the pH, like pH down by API.
I will use my caliper to measure the pieces before I put
them into the containers, then I was thinking that I will measure the coral
pieces once or twice a week for five weeks. Each time I measure the pieces of coral, I will measure each piece in the same spots.
From the results of my experiment, I can determine how
acidic the water has to be to dissolve coral, and how fast each amount of pH
will dissolve the coral pieces.
Brittnie--I'm so glad to see that you've made such great progress on your project.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't explain this in your 'methods' so I will suggest it (just in case)--please make sure that you measure the coral in exactly the same spots each time. Also, when you noted the scientific name of your coral (good job by the way!) the genus is always capitalized but the species name is not and the scientific name should always be italicized. e.g., Plexaura Homomalla should be Plexaura homomalia (only in italics--"Post a Comment" doesn't give the the tools to italicize it).
Also--you can store your submerged samples in the lab if you like; this way you can also us the pH meter to monitor any changes which are likely to occur due to dissolving CaCO3 making the seawater more alkaline.
Oops for me!--I see in your table that you named the Family and Genus--not Genus and species.
DeleteThank you, using the lab will be very helpful!
DeleteHi Brittnie:
ReplyDeleteYou state that the coral you found is the Black Sea Rod Coral. Is it from the Black Sea? If so, how do you think it made its way to the Bahamas?
Hello Jeffrey,
DeleteIt's not from the Black Sea, that's just its name. It's also called Caribbean Sea Whip. They're located in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, and South Florida.
I was just wondering if you plan on useing different species of corals as well. The gorgonian which you have stated to use has a strange composition in the coral world (supported by a compound known as gorgonin rather than calcium carbonate like most reef building corals). I can get you some other skeletons of corals if youd like to test these other coral species out.
ReplyDelete