Group+6A-

8/8 Neatness/Organization-Nice 6/8 Introduction-No refs for info? 8/8 Procedure- 8/8 Data- Not all in same units 8/8 Conclusion 38/40 Total

1.Macro Shot of a Green Star Polyp 2.Colony of Green Star Polyps

Green Star Polyps //Calvularia Viridis//

Green Star Polyps specifically, are small, bright green polyps connected together by a purple mat. They're most often open during the day, and retracted when disturbed.
 * Background:**

Star Polyps can come in a variety of colors ranging from green, to purple, to white. These polyps are a soft coral, originated in Indonesia and tend to be rather "hardy" ( meaning they can survive in a plethora of environments. ) Star Polyps grow best and brightest in a tank/environment with a lot of light and a 74-84 degree temperature range. These polyps do not have a stinging capability, however they can get rather aggressive towards neighbors, etc. These polyps, also, do not require feeding. They are photosynthetic and strive off of the phosphates in the water. These are good filler coral due to their hardiness.

Propogation of these coral is also very easy. Simply cut a small piece of the mat and attatch (with reef clue, rubber bands, etc) to a rock or piece of cement/rocks. The coral quickly will attach itself and regenerate.

1. Green Star Polyp hosting a clown fish 2. Retracted green Star Polyp

Our Experiment: This coral has been said to be extreamely hardy. We're testing to see how truthful that statement is. We're testing to see if the original mat size affects the growth of the green star polyps.

Procedure: 1. Get a few pieces of star polyp mat 2. Cut to size, 4 pieces. (each piece half the size of the last. i.e. start with a 1"x1" piece, and scale down.) 3. Glue piece of coral to a plug 4. glue plugs to a petri-dish (so they stay together) 5. Place in average-lit aquarium 6. check weekly on growth 7. measure/record data

10/7 ||= 1.25 cm ||= 1.25 x 1 cm ||= .5 x .5 cm ||= .25 x .25 cm ||  || 10/15 ||= 1.25 cm ||= 1.25 x 1 cm ||= .5 x .5 cm ||= .25 x .25 cm ||  || 10/19 ||= 1.5 x 1.5 cm 24 polyps ||= 1.25 x 1 cm (dead) ||= 1 x 1 cm (mostly dead) ||= .25 x .25 cm (dead) ||  || 10/30
 * = Week ||= Plug 1 ||= Plug 2 ||= Plug 3 ||= Plug 4 || other info: ||
 * = 1 (start)
 * = 2
 * = 3
 * = 4** ||= dead ||= dead ||= dead ||= dead ||  ||
 * = 1
 * = 1

(Initial Data) ||= 3/4cmx .5cm 5 polyps ||= 3/4cm x 1cm 5 polyps ||= 1.5cmx1cm 11 polyps ||= 2cm x 1cm 18 polyps ||  || 11/3 ||= 9/10cm x 3/4cm 5 polyps ||= 6/10cm x 1.25cm 9 polyps ||= 1.25cmx 3/4cm 11 polyps ||= 2c x 1.25cm 20 polyps || plugs growing algae coral 4; polyps emerging || 11/10 ||= dead ||= (almost dead) 1cm x 1.5 cm 2 polyps ||= 1.5cm x 1.75cm 12 polyps ||= 2cm x 1.25 cm 20 polyps || coral 3; 1 polyp emerging corals looking a little sickly || 11/17 ||= dead ||= dead ||= dead ||= 1.5 cm x 1cm 14 polyps || coral 4; polyps emerging, 3 out || 11/24 ||= dead ||= dead ||= dead ||= 1.5 cm x 1cm 10 polyps || polyps emerging and opening up || 11/30 ||= dead ||= dead ||= dead ||= 2cm x 2cm 12 polyps || 10 polyps open, tips green || 12/10 || dead || dead || dead || 2cm x 2cm 12 polyps || coral looking healthier ||
 * = 2
 * = 3
 * = 4
 * = 5
 * = 6
 * 7
 * 8 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||

Some kind of error occured where most of the class' corals were dying, but we're not entirely sure what. We're thinking that something in the composition of the ceramic plugs released an extra amount of copper into the water/corals. The project was re-started from scratch a couple weeks later. Information is recorded above--
 * Project aborted after week 4, all corals were dead

Through this experiment, we see that coral propogation- even with a 'hardy' coral, is hard to maintain. Our corals were glued to a petri dish in the same environment for 8 weeks, and 3 of the corals ended up dying. Plug 4 took until weeks 5 and 6 to start really growing, was looking healthy and thriving in the last weeks of the experiment.

I think there were definately factors that could have been changed to secure our data, to make more precise measurements. But other then that, I think that the project was successful in seeing the process in which a coral takes to grow, and how propogation really works.

Page by: Hannah Sikand Kristina Knapp