Update on salinity ramps and settlement trials
date post created 20210716; date last revised 20210716 hgr post creation
the purpose of this post is to recap the purpose of/main results the polyp bailout trials from june & july 2021
| date | main objective | main result | unexpected obstacles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/14 | run bailout trial in incubator | strong positive relationship between # of corallites and MP released, experiment worked similarly to those run earlier in the year in the water tables | pump increased container water temp by 5C (replaced with oxygen bubbler), jebao pump misprogrammed (AT wrote a detailed lab notebook post on the protocol) |
| 6/21, 6/28 | run bailout trial with slightly larger fragments, track settlement success | Many of the MPs “attached” to the waterproof paper wound up being piles of disintegrated tissue | |
| 7/6 | promote survivorship by ramping to lower salinity (55 and 57.5) with a 1d ramp (rather than 2d) and promote settlement by glueing crushed up coral plug onto waterproof paper & microscope cover slips | The 1day ramp resulted in fragments not bailing out during workday and being exposed to high salinity for an extra night. The incurrance of extra stress did not promote survivorship. Polyp-like properties were observed in one well | |
| 7/12 | promote survivorship by settling MPs in mesh chamber with waterflow & compare with well plates | MPs settled in mesh chambers did not interact with settlement substrate, clumped up near plastic lid, and disentegrated. Higher survivorship & occaisonal presence of polyp-like characteristics in well plates | 1 day salinity ramp still not optimized. Fragments needed 9.5hrs at 60psu before partial bailout |
outline next steps
| objective | plan | |
|---|---|---|
| compare 1 & 2d salinity ramp for P. acuta | schedule 48 25mL doses in 15 min intervals (12hrs total needed). have 48th dose occur so the 9hr exposure to 60psu begins ~9hr before starting work day. monitor for bailout throughout day | |
| astrangia bailout | try 1 & 2d salinity ramps | |
| optimize survivorship & settlement | 1 & 2 d ramp comparison, settle MPs in octogon, settle on tops of coral plugs |
Written on July 16, 2021