Files and links (2)
Substantial advancement in aquaria rearing methods to assist recovery of an Endangered soft coral2.63 MB
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open
Journal article
Substantial advancement in aquaria rearing methods to assist recovery of an Endangered soft coral
Aquatic conservation, pp.1-14
09/11/2022
Metrics
4 File views/ downloads
38 Record Views
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Abstract
The temperate soft coral Dendronephthya australis has been listed as Endangered in NSW, Australia, owing to its restricted geographic range, rapidly declining populations, and a number of escalating threats. Research to assess practical methods for aquarium cultivation of D. australis for rehabilitation of wild populations is considered a high priority. Previous attempts at restoration by transplanting D. australis fragments have had limited success, but identified key challenges, which included achieving attachment to substrates and identifying appropriate foods to maximize survival. This study presents the results of experiments promoting the attachment of cuttings (nubbins) removed from donor colonies to moveable substrates (small concrete discs). Using a balanced orthogonal experimental design, three feeding regimes were tested: live artemia, live rotifers and dry powdered zooplankton. Donor colony survival and growth were also monitored over a 6 month period in the field. An overall nubbin survival rate of 100% was achieved under all three feeding regimes. Attachment rates were similar across feeding treatments, although nubbin behavioural responses (percentage of open polyps before feeding) suggested some preference for live rotifers. The cutting removal process had no significant effect on donor colonies in the wild, indicating that this is a sustainable approach for restoration. Overall, this study substantially advances the methodology for maintaining an Endangered azooxanthellate soft coral in aquaria and provides valuable input for management programmes aimed at implementing transplantation into the wild to aid species recovery.
Details
- Title
- Substantial advancement in aquaria rearing methods to assist recovery of an Endangered soft coral
- Creators
- Meryl F. Larkin - Southern Cross UniversityTom R. Davis - New South Wales Department of Primary IndustriesDavid Harasti - New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (Coffs Harbour)Kirsten Benkendorff - Southern Cross UniversityStephen D. A. Smith - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Aquatic conservation, pp.1-14
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- Marine Ecology Research Centre, Southern Cross University NSW Department of Primary Industries Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship at SCU; Australian Government Open access publishing facilitated by Southern Cross University, as part of the Wiley - Southern Cross University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
- Identifiers
- 991013068413502368
- Copyright
- © 2022 The Authors. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article