Group+1A-

 8/8 Neatness/Organization 6/8 Introduction-No refs for info? 6/8 Procedure-Needs to be more specific! 7/8 Data- Not all in same units 8/8 Conclusion 35/40 Total

// (Clavularia viridis) //** ​ media type="youtube" key="pyNGYGbILJw" height="344" width="425" align="center"
 * Green Star Polyps

Does the lighting in the tank affect both the color and the growth rate of the GSP?
 * __Green Star Polyps and Different Lighting__ **

**//__Scientific Name__//** Clavularia viridis Green Star Polyps, GSP Indonesia Medium to High __//**Current**//__ Moderate to High Highly aggressive. While GSPs do not sting their neighbors, their encrusting mat can quickly overtake other corals in a fight for space. Very hardy, excellent beginner's coral once water parameters are stable and calcium levels are up to par. This coral does appreciate the addition of iodine/iodide. __//**Supplements**//__ Green Star Polyps don't need any kind of special supplements. Green Star Polyps are easily propagated simply by cutting a section off of their purple mat with scissors or something similar.
 * __//Common Names//__**
 * __//Origin//__**
 * __//Lighting//__**
 * __//Aggressiveness//__**
 * __//Hardiness//__**
 * //__Propagation__//**

Green Star Polyps can be placed in a salt water tank where it can receive enough light and high flow. They also adapt better to tanks that have light and heavy flow. Green Star Polyp corals are really great space filler corals. They are encrusting corals which means that they spread by means of an expanding rubbery purple mat. Green Star Polyps grow in almost any light, however it wont have very great coloration unless they are under bright light. This coral loves a higher current to keep pest algae from growing on it and potentially smothering it. This coral also thrives of off phosphates and nutrients in your water.

Green Star Polyps are soft corals, and do well in a water temperate of between 74 º and 84 º F. They are also photosynthetic corals, which means that they allow certain algae to grow on them, and use the energy that they produce from sunlight. Green Star Polyps are small bright green polyps all connected together by a rubbery purple mat. They are open during the day, and they retract at night and when they feel disturbed.

Green Star Polyps are frequently sold on a small piece of rock and can usually be purchased for under $20. Once established in the aquarium, Green Star Polyps will rapidly spread and encrust other nearby live rock, sand or the tank walls (and the tank bottom in a bare bottom system). Green Star Polyps spread so quickly, in fact, that some aquarists consider them to be “nuisance coral.” In truth, it is easy to keep this coral's growth in check through advance planning and regular pruning.


 * __PROCEDURE__**
 * First, we decided what our question is going to be, which is, How does the lighting affect the coloration and growth of the corals?
 * Next, we took four pieces of the coral and put them in four different tanks which have different lighting.
 * We took one piece of coral and cut it up into four different pieces, then used Coral Glue to glue them down onto our plugs, therefore we could put them each in different tanks.
 * We are going to collect our data by watching each of the corals and write down how much they grow each week and if the coloration changes.
 * __DATA TABLE__** (In Week Two (11.10.09), we started the project over, due to a class-wide failure of growth among corals.)


 * **Week One:**

Mat size: 2.5cm Color:purple: Overall growth: grew slightly **
 * Coral #1 (Kaylee)**
 * Number of polyps: 28

Mat size: 15mm Color: redish purple Overall growth: 0 **
 * Coral #2 (Amanda)**
 * Number of polyps: 26

Mat size:2cm Color: purple Dead **
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**
 * Number of polyps: 32

Mat size: 1.8cm Color: Purple Overall growth: Dead ** ||< || **Week Two:
 * Coral #4 (Jake)**
 * Number of polyps: 9

Coral #1 (Kaylee) Nu **mber of polyps: 16 Color: purple Overall growth: 0 **
 * Mat size: 2cm

Number of polyps: 15 Mat size: 15mm Color: purple Overall growth: 0
 * Coral#2 (Amanda)**

Number of polyps: 8 Mat size: 1.5 Color: purple Dead
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

Number of polyps: 17 Mat size: 1.5cm Color: purple Overall growth: Dead ||  || **Week Two: (11.10.09)
 * Coral #4 (Jake)**

Coral #1 (Kaylee) Nu **mber of polyps: Color: purple Overall growth: 0 **
 * Mat size:

Number of polyps: Mat size: 9mm Color: purple Overall growth: 0
 * Coral#2 (Amanda)**

Number of polyps:9 Mat size: 2 Color: purple Overall growth: 0
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

Number of polyps: 16 Mat size: Color: purple Overall growth: 1mm ||  || **Week Three:**
 * Coral #4 (Jake)**

Nu **mber of polyps: Color: purple Overall growth: 0 **
 * Coral #1 (Kaylee)
 * Mat size:

Number of polyps:17 Mat size:10mm Color: purple Overall growth: 0
 * Coral#2 (Amanda)**

Number of polyps: Mat size: Color: purple Dead
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

Number of polyps: 16 Mat size: Color: purple Overall growth: 3mm || **Week Four:**
 * Coral #4 (Jake)**


 * Coral #1 (Kaylee)**

Dead

Number of polyps: 19 Mat size: 11mm Color: purple Overall growth: 1mm / 2p
 * Coral#2 (Amanda)**


 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

Dead

Number of polyps: 16 Mat size: 22mm Color: purple Overall growth: 0 ||
 * Coral #4 (Jake)**
 * **Week 5:**

**Coral #1 (Kaylee)**
 * Dead **

Dead
 * Coral #2 (Amanda)**

Dead
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

(Only one remaining)
 * Coral 4 (Jake)**

Number of Polyps: 20 Mat Size: 23mm Color: Purple, with green polyps. Growth: 5mm ||  |||| **Week 6:**

**Coral #1 (Kaylee)**
 * Dead **

Dead
 * Coral #2 (Amanda)**

Dead
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

(Only One Remaining)
 * Coral 4 (Jake)

Number of Polyps: 24 Mat Size: 25mm Color: Light purple Overall Growth: 7 mm ** |||| **Week 7:**

**Coral #1 (Kaylee)**
 * Dead **

Dead
 * Coral #2 (Amanda)**

Dead
 * Coral #3 (Katharina)**

(Only One Remaining)
 * Coral 4 (Jake)

Number of Polyps: 30 Mat Size: 1 inch Color: light & dark purple Overall growth: 8 mm ** ||  ||   ||

__**END RESULT**__ In the end only one of our corals lived and was a healthy, growing coral. The coral with the most light died, the coral in the pink light died, the coral with little light died, and the coral with medium level light was then only coral that lived. Our corals possibly could have died from the light level, or being eaten by something in one of the tanks.

__**How does the lighting affect the coloration and growth of the corals?**__
 * The coral that was in the tank with the most light consistently stayed at a purple color and it did grow up until it died. So, the lighting did affect the coral growth wise, but now color wise. It stayed the same for two weeks, shrank, grew and then died.
 * The coral that was in the tank with the pink lighting did not last very long. It shrank and then it died. The pink lighting definitely had an affect on that coral. It shrank from 2.5 to 2 and then it died. So the lighting obviously wasn't good for the coral.
 * The coral that was in the thank with dim lighting did not do good in the dim lighting. It shrank and then died within sometime between week three and four.
 * The coral that was in the tank with not extremely bright light but not totally dim light was the coral that did the best. It was the only coral that survived. Toward the end, the number of polyp's grew and the color changed.

From the results that we gathered, our conclusion is that florescent, bright and dim lighting caused the corals to die and the color to not change a whole lot. And that the tank with medium light, the color changed and the coral grew and was healthy even at the end in week seven. That is how color affect's the coloration and growth of corals.

Page Edited By:
__Amanda Bates, Jacob Hence, Katharina West and Kaylee Riendeau__