Transportation techniques for massive scleractinian corals

• Published in: Zoo biology 2004, Vol.23 (2), p.165-176
• Main Authors: Petersen, Dirk, Laterveer, Michaël, Bergen, David van, Kuenen, Maureen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: conservation; Diploria strigosa; ex situ; Montastraea annularis; public aquarium; transfer
• ISSN: 0733-3188; 1098-2361
• DOI: 10.1002/zoo.10127

Transportation techniques for scleractinian corals have been described mainly for fragments and small colonies. As part of a recent study on captive sexual reproduction of the Caribbean species Montastrea annularis and Diploria strigosa, we transported relatively large (max. diameter of 21 cm), heavy (max. weight of 9,200 g) colonies of both species from Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, to Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A new transportation technology was applied whereby the corals were transplanted to specially designed PVC crosses to provide stabilization during transport. In two transports (November 2001 and February 2002), 100 colonies were transported submerged, in a shipping time of >35 hr. The survival rate measured 2 weeks after transport was 100%. Four and 8 months after transport, respectively, two colonies of D. strigosa died without any obvious cause. In November 2002 we observed an outbreak of Dark Spots disease (DSD) affecting two‐thirds of the colonies of M. annularis. Although the colonies did not show any symptoms when they were collected, the disease most probably was transferred when the coral were transported from the field to the laboratory. The presented method is appropriate for transporting large, heavy corals–especially for scientific purposes. In general, species‐specific properties, colony size, and transportation time determine which transportation method should be applied. In the future, there may be a shift toward transports of fragments, coral larvae, and primary polyps to reduce collections in the field. Zoo Biol 23:165–176, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.