Poster Presentation Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting 2023

Improving Coral Grow-Out Through an Integrated Aquaculture Approach (#393)

Rachel Neil 1 , Jonathan Barton 2 , David Bourne 1 2 3 , Andrew Heyward 4 , Thomas Mock 5 , Leo Nankervis 1 , Craig Humphrey 2 3
  1. College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Douglas, QLD, Australia
  2. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Cape Cleveland, QLD, Australia
  3. AIMS@JCU, Townsville, QLD, Australia
  4. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  5. Nutrition and Seafood Laboratory (NuSea.Lab), School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Queenscliff Marine Station, Vic, Australia

In the wild there is evidence that corals derive benefits from fish that live in close association. To test if similar effects could be applied ex situ, fish-associated corals, Acropora kenti and Pocillopora verrucosa, and non-fish-associated, Porites lutea and Platygyra daedalea, were grown in aquaria under different treatments for 3 months, while their growth and photosynthetic activity was tracked. Treatments included corals 1) kept with a school of Chromis viridis fed a pelleted diet, 2) supplied filtered water from a tank with a school of C. viridis, 3) fed live feeds whilst maintained with C. viridis, 4) supplied only with live feeds, 5) no fish but supplied with pelleted fish diet, and 6) control with no feeds or fish. Exposure to fish, fish-water or live feeds increased the photosynthetic capacity of Symbiodiniaceae within the corals.  These treatments also improved coral growth as measured by buoyant weight, while the pelleted fish diet suppressed growth. Results indicate there are benefits to captive reared corals through nutrient enrichment from dissolved fish wastes. Integrated multi-species aquaculture is an important tool that could improve production of corals to satisfy a demand for sustainably produced colonies for reef restoration endeavours and the burgeoning coral aquarium trade.