Tissue culture is not the same as cell culture, but the latter gets us one step closer to the former. If you’re not familiar with the concept, tissue culture is a form of cloning that is responsible for producing thousands…
Search Results For: Symbiodinium
Dr. Hugo Freudenthal, Renowned Scientist & Discoverer of Symbiotic Algae Passes Away
Hugo Freudenthal was a very accomplished researcher and pilot who made his mark on the field of coral reef ecology by discovering and describing symbiotic algae. Now known as Symbiodinium, the photosynthetic dinoflagellates that live inside corals, clams, anemones and many…
Manganese and Nickel could protect corals from climate change
New Caledonia is a tropical island due east of Australia and is one of the world’s largest producers of Nickel ore. There are many reefs around New Caledonia which some that are downstream of nickel mine runoff which have been…
Giant Clam Poop Could Help Corals Recover from Bleaching!
Last September a study was published taking a close look at giant clam poop, more accurately described as fecal pellets. We previously shared this story but wanted to circle back to it to really drive home one interesting point about…
New Research Shows Zooxanthellae are Older than Dinosaurs
Symbiotic zooxanthellae are the backbone of tropical reefs built by photosynthetic corals. Therefore understanding how zooxanthellae ‘works’ and how different they are is paramount to understanding how coral reefs work as an ecosystem, and how they can adapt to a…
Could Genetically Modified Algae Save Coral Reefs?
Coral Reefs Photosynthetic marine algae are crucial to the survival of the coral reefs. These tiny algae live symbiotically inside coral tissue and are responsible for converting sunlight into usable energy for the coral’s survival. Yet as we know all…
Can You Transplant Zooxanthellae To Bleached Corals?
Coral bleaching is a huge problem out in the ocean, but it can also be an issue in home aquariums. Sometimes we have the urge to rescue a bleached coral or anemone we spot for sale, and other times the…
Five Ways To Go Beyond The Basics Of Aquarium Lighting
I can clearly remember a time when understanding light on our aquariums was more like trying to wrap your head around alchemy than actual science. We discussed light in number of tubes, watts per gallons, and trichromatic, actinic and daylight…
A new way to photosynthesize discovered in mesophotic coral, Stylophora pistillata
A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science found that photosynthetic algae in corals which inhabit mesophotic reefs have a never-before seen adaptation to life in the twilight zone. Researchers found that the Symbiodinium spp. algae responsible for powering photosynthesis…
Coral Bleaching: This sad video shows the violent process
We know what the after effect of coral bleaching looks like, but now we are able to know what actually happens during this process thanks to this time-lapse video of coral dumping its zooxanthellae as a reaction to the stress…
