Coral health Indicators

[hypernesia]

Just read this article this morning. http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=34610098521
Although the majority of us do not have the means for DNA testing our corals, it adds to the "what if " factor when anyone loses a coral. It will also be used as a scapegoat for those with bad husbandry. just a thought!

 

[drparker]

Interesting acrticle.

How long until some is selling "DNA tested" corals on eBay?

 

[greenbean36191]

I'll sell you the instructions if the price is right.

I think you'll be disappointed with the results though. Clade A is also found in healthy corals, so doesn't tell you what the news article makes it sound like. Many of the corals in the northern Red Sea do just fine with clade A. Studies in Japan have shown that young Acropora grow faster and are more stress tolerant with clade A than with other clades. Condylactis seems to do better with it too. So there's no clear answer.

Different clades of zooxanthellae perform differently under different conditions and after bleaching, corals often switch to different, more high-temperature-tolerant clades only to slowly switch back between bleaching years.

One thing that bugs me about the paper is that clade A is known to recolonize colonies quickly after damage. They assume that clade A is the cause of disease susceptibility rather than a symptom. Presence of clade A could be a symptom of previous damage which itself would make the coral susceptible to future damage. They also only tested the C translocation under a single set of parameters rather than under various lighting and temperature conditions. Generally where clade A is relatively common, it's only spatially limited to certain environments, so you wouldn't expect it to be the best choice in all environments.