1. Montipora capricornis Growth Under Varying Tank Conditions
Research and presentation by Charlie Biggerstaff and Marshal Noonan

2. Background on M. Capricornis
Sceleratinian coral, Acropora family.
Typically grow in shallow to medium depths with intense tropical light.
Native to Indonesia
Known for vase-like shape
Considered fairly fast growing for a hard coral
Shimek, 2004
Perun 2012
Don’t forget to add citations. What kind of conditions to they grow in on reefs in the ocean? Are you trying to mimic their natural environment?

3. Research Questions
Do calcium levels in the tank affect the growth of M. capricornis?
Does tank depth affect the growth of M. capricornis?
Does M. capricornis grow better under different types of lights?
Does current flow affect the growth rate of M. capricornis
Do any of the aforementioned variables affect the color of M. capricornis during growth?
Be sure to not capitalize capricornis

4. Previous Research
T5 and metal halide lamps appear to have the most success.
Contradictory reports on the affects of tank depth.
Some aquarium owners claim faster growth in direct current
Overall limited previous research.
Coral Lore 2012
Fishlore 2012
Fatherree 2000
Put the name, date for the citations for this info on the slide. Halide has on l.

5. Hypothesis
The growth rate of Montipora capricornis in all three dimensions will be highest in shallow depths under either T5 or metal halide lamps with no shade and moderate calcium levels, and the color of Montipora capricornis will remain constant.

6. Methods

7. Fragging All fragments taken from specimens in 90 gallon tank.
Acclimated to new tanks and then placed on the racks

8. Measurements Taken using a ruler All measurements in centimeters
DID NOT include expanded/flatened out base portion in width.
You can show people during the talk how you took your measurements. Just grab a coral and a ruler!

9. Set-Ups Depth experiment set up with two racks in the 70 gallon tank.
Lighting set up with one rack in C3, other three corals on bottom.
Current flow experiment set up with two racks in 70 gallon tank, one directly in from of a powerhead.

10. Results

11. Depth Experiment – 70 Tank
On average, corals A, B, and C (shallow) grew in height 57% faster than 1, 2, and 3 (deep).
Negligible increases in width in all cases.
Don’t capitalize “corals”. I’m assuming you’ll explain what is A – C and 1 – 3 and that you’ll have a figure here.

12. Lighting Experiment – C3 vs. 70
T5 in C3 vs. metal halide in 70
Light on C3 burnt out, no light for about two days.
New light was smaller, less effective coverage of tank.
For an unknown period of time this light never went off, resulting in eventual full bleaching of all involved corals.

13. Lighting Experiment Continued
Results – the corals in the 70 tank under metal halide lighting grew noticeably more, faster.
Keep in mind the bleaching – definite impact on results.

14. Current Flow Experiment – 70 Tank
Early on the corals in the current actually shrank and started to bleach.
Final results also indicated faster growth outside of current, but only slightly.
Data is relatively inconclusive.
Did they shrink or did they grow in a different plane? Likely, they didn’t actually shrink…

15. Coloration
In all three experiments there was no observed change in color.
The only exception is the bleaching in C3

16. Possible Continuation of Research
More Samples
Alternate measuring method
Monoculture tank environments
Uniform water chemistry
Uniform starting specimen sizes – not feasible using our fragging technique.
Work with larger specimens in addition to smaller fragments.
Grow samples without using plugs.
Look up info about hanging frags. That could be another way to grow these corals.

17. Application of Results
Valuable to aquarium owners planning on growing smaller specimens.
Adds to the limited existing data pool.
Potentially helpful to future conservation efforts.
Useful for coral propagation and sales.
You are the first group to mention conservation.  Nice.

18. Bibliography
"Montipora Capricornis." Blane Perun's TheSea.Org. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept <
"Montipora Capricornis" ["Montipora Capricornis"]. Coral Lore Reefkeeping Made    Simple. Coral Lore, 7 Apr Web. 29 Sept   <
"Montipora Capricornis" ["Montipora Capricornis"]. Fishlore Aquarium Fish
Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept
< coral/montipora-capricornis.htm>.
"Montipora Capricornis Classification." Animal Diversity Web.
N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct <
Fatherree, Jim. Hard Corals: Selecting and Maintaining Hard Corals, Feeding and Algal Symbiosis, Lighting and Water Clarity. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H., Print.
Friese, U. Erich. Marine Invertebrates in the Home Aquarium. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications, Print.
Shimek, Ronald L. Marine Invertebrates: 500+ Essential-to-know Aquarium Species. Neptune City, NJ: TFH-Microcosm, Print.
Tullock, John H. Corals: Everything about Purchase, Care, Feeding, and Compatibility. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, Print.
Overall, it looks like a good presentation. Be sure you spend time on your data. I’m assuming you’ll have graphs with really descriptive titles under the figures. If you have tables, which I’d discourage because of the nature of your data, label those above. Don’t forget to include citations on the slides when necessary.