You are what you eat; The role of heterotrophic feeding in coral juvenile survival, growth, and heat tolerance.
MPhil Thesis
| Authors | Calvert, M., Sweet, M. and Bulling, M. |
|---|---|
| Type | MPhil Thesis |
| Qualification name | MPhil |
| Abstract | This scientific thesis investigates the impact of different heterotrophic feeding regimes on the survival, growth, and heat tolerance of newly settled coral juveniles’ ex-situ. Coral reefs, facing escalating threats, especially from coral bleaching due to increasing marine heatwaves linked to climate change, necessitate innovative conservation and restoration strategies. Reef restoration practices, including ex-situ coral culture facilities, have become crucial in understanding coral survival mechanisms and aiding the recovery of coral ecosystems. However, challenges in coral culture facilities, such as labour and cost efficiency, emphasize the need for optimizing early-life growth stages. This study focuses on the crucial role of heterotrophic feeding, exploring its potential to enhance coral juvenile survival, growth, and health. Heterotrophic feeding, involving the ingestion of various organisms, offers a promising avenue for supplying essential nutrients not adequately provided by photosynthesis alone. The research aims to address gaps in understanding how nutrition influences the early life history stages of corals. The objectives include investigating the role of nutrition on newly settled coral juvenile, comparing metabolic rates, zooxanthellae, and chlorophyll densities under different diet treatments, and assessing thermal stress tolerance. The methodology involves Acropora spawning and coral juvenile production, experimental setups with varied heterotrophic feeding treatments, and three distinct stages of investigation. Stage 1 focuses on the nutritional impact on newly settled coral juvenile, Stage 2 explores baseline metabolic rates and nutritional impacts on zooxanthellae and chlorophyll densities, and Stage 3 evaluates thermal tolerance under different heterotrophic diets. Results indicate that heterotrophic feeding can significantly influence coral juvenile survival and growth, with potential implications for coral resilience to bleaching events. The study contributes valuable insights into the optimization of coral culture facilities and the development of effective conservation and restoration strategies for coral reefs in the face of climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. |
| Keywords | Coral, Heterotrophy, Respiration, Bleaching, Heat Tolerance, Juvenile |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publisher | College of Science and Engineering, University of Derby |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.48773/qzy5x |
| File | License File Access Level Open |
| Output status | Unpublished |
| Publication process dates | |
| Deposited | 17 Sep 2025 |
https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/qzy5x/you-are-what-you-eat-the-role-of-heterotrophic-feeding-in-coral-juvenile-survival-growth-and-heat-tolerance
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| You are what you eat; The role of heterotrophic feeding in coral juvenile survival, growth, and heat tolerance..pdf | ||
| License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | ||
| File access level: Open | ||
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