Journeys End

Content

My results found that high concentrations of potassium chloride and lower concentrations of potassium permanganate, as coral dips, are effective at removing the nudibranchs. Potential other solutions and ramifications of these treatments could have been found too, with some extra equipment I currently don't have access to. This process of discovery taught me about the scholarly world of coral research. I learned about the intense need for further research, the void of knowledge existing, and even other issues in the world. With everything I learned, I intend to get more into the scholarly conversation, learning about what knowledge is out there already, and I hope to bring what I have found to the hobbyist scene and provide a potential avenue for treatment.

This research process taught me time management and the need for backup plans. I was slow to start with my research, and this came back to bite me later in my research, leading to many late nights working on assignments and my research. The amount of issues I ran into, particularly when acquiring all my organisms showec me the importance of having a safety plan, without one I was setback weeks looking for alternatives to acquire the corals when my initial solution was no longer viable.

Product

From my final presentation I learned the importance of being able to not only research new topics but to be able to communicate your findings so others can understand and apply your research. The oral defense showed me how in depth you need your research and knowledge to be in order for the research to be applicable and credible. Finally, from the academic paper, I learned the necessity of documentation within research, something I somewhat skimped on.

In the future, if I continue a research path, I intend to make sure everything that I do within my research is well documented. I will also ensure that, as I am conducting my research, I continue reviewing scholarly papers to refine my knowledge on the topic. In future topics, I will also focus more on being able to effectively communicate my results to someone who may not know anything about my topic, too, this can help my research have a bigger impact.

Process

As a student, I learned how bad my procrastination is. Without the large amount of work put into the methods side earlier in the year, my research would have been in shambles. I underestimated the time research takes and the size of this course workload. As a person, I learned lessons I can apply to my everyday life. I learned that even small amounts of effort in the beginning can be a huge help later down the road. Finally, as a researcher, I learned the importance of communication; my research is useless if I cannot communicate my findings to others. In the future, I hope to take what I've learned and procrastinate less and communicate more effectively.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank several people who, without I would be unable to complete this research. These are people who helped me through roadblocks and provided avenues for solutions.

Ryan Cullen - My employer and friend who provided much of the necessary equipment for my research. I am grateful for the space provided to store corals, propagate corals, and be allowed to conduct my research more efficiently.

Salem Clemens - A renowned name in the ornamental reef aquarium trade, who provided me with feedback on potential topics in need of research and who provided most of the organisms needed for my experiment.

My parents - without them encouraging and yelling at me about my missing assignments, I may never have finished the. I thank them for the space provided and the mental support needed when conducting this research, along with the stressful reminders on how I am behind.

Thank you to everyone that helped me in this research process.

Abstract

Montipora Corals are a popular genus of corals to grow and keep in captivity, both in coral aquaculture and with the ornamental aquarium trade. These corals are often the subject of a pest nudibranch species, Phestilla Subodiosus, consuming their live tissue. This effectively causes many to lose the coral entirely or reduce the efficiency of growth obtained from the Montipora coral. With the ornamental aquarium trade bringing in large amounts of money and aquaculture potentially contributing to reef restoration, it is essential to research potential avenues of treatment for these pest nudibranch species. To research treatments, chemical controls were identified from previous research to be a popular treatment avenue, specifically in a submersion dip-like fashion. Different chemical solutions to be used were derived from previously found research and commonly used solutions already prevalent in the ornamental trade and aquaculture. I hypothesized that the higher concentrations of these solutions would prove to be the most effective in treating Phestilla Subodiosus infestations while also creating a larger negative impact on the coral’s health. When compared to a control treatment of no chemical solution in a submersion, most treatments proved to have a significant effect, with the most effective being all potassium permanganate solutions and higher concentrations of potassium chloride. With observations after treatment, the most effective solutions for the removal rate that had a significant negative effect on Montipora coral health were higher concentrations of potassium chloride and lower concentrations of potassium permanganate. These data points can benefit in the future from more quantitative samples observing consistency through multiple treatments and the examination of other factors such as hatch rate and a more qualitative measurement of the treated coral’s health. Methods and discoveries from this research can support future studies of Phestilla Subodiosus treatments and even applications to other common pest species in both the ornamental and aquaculture trades.

Final Works

Final Paper

Presentation

The Future

After my time here at Rock Canyon, I will be attending the Colorado School of Mines with a major in applied mathematics and statistics and a minor in business and economics. I hope to study other avenues of research on a scholarly level and even continue coral research on my current personal credibility.

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