Paul Ferguson, UR - Azooxanthellate Coral... Hard to Pronounce, Even harder to Keep Alive

       I recently made contact with Chad Macfie, who is an Environmental Specialist II over at the Marine Science Center. He is the manager of Live Collection and Life Support there and referred me to an article in order to get me on board with what we plan to research. This article, Non Photosynthetic Corals,  discussed the difficulties in keeping this variety of soft corals alive in a closed system. Azooxanthellate corals differ from zooxanthellate corals in that they do not share the symbiotic relationship with the photosynthetic dinoflagellates. Azooxanthellates must therefore derive their energy to grow and recolonize from filter feeding tiny microscopic zooplankton.

Leptogorgia virgulata

Leptogorgia virgulata

      Part of the difficulty in keeping these corals alive in a closed system is determining what kind of food each coral will survive and thrive on. Some zooplankton are just too large for the coral to be able to capture, hold, and deliver to its mouth. Another major concern is current strength. All of these species have a threshold for optimization of feeding. In a slow current, their tentacles within a polyp orientate upstream in order to capture prey, while in a fast current, they face downstream to create an eddy. As the flow rate increases, their ability to feed increases, peaks and then decreases as the rate of flow continues to increase.

       The species I will be conducting my research on is the Leptogorgia virgulata. This species is located right in our backyard in the Indian River Lagoon and there are many questions to be answered with this species of azooxanthellate coral. This species occurs on ledges, inlets and the intracostal waterway. I haven't narrowed down exactly what my research will include or what specific question I hope to have answered, though I am thrilled at the opportunity to research something I have always thoroughly enjoyed learning about.