The Elegance Coral Project
Background and Introduction
For many years, elegance corals (Catalaphyllia jardinei) were among the easiest corals to keep in aquaria. Over the past five years, most entering the trade are doomed because of a condition for which there is no known cause or cure. In this condition, the coral adopts a relatively swollen oral disk with a fringe of unextended tentacles. The coral tissue eventually shrinks, and the coral dies despite all manner of experimental intervention.
In some cases, a white opaque mucus-like web may be present. I am not sure if this is an entirely separate condition, somehow related, secondary to the primary condition, or part of the same condition.
There has been much speculation as to why this condition now occurs, and various sources have suggested causes and even cures. But I stress that no research to my knowledge has been done on this condition, and to date none of the potential causes, solutions, or cures seems to have much validity.
These corals are extremely beautiful and desirable. Unfortunately today, the survival of them puts them in a similar class with Goniopora stokesi where survival rates are too low to justify the large-scale collection of them from the wild. In fact, Catalaphyllia appear to be relatively rare species and may be highly overcollected so that populations in some collection areas are threatened or even locally extinct. To continue to collect rare species that have extremely low survival is bad for everyone – it is an economic loss, a resource waste, and a source of great frustration for all those who purchase and attempt to keep them alive.
Not all Catalaphyllia shows signs of this condition. Occasionally, I see them in stores with a normal healthy appearance. During surveys of coral collection areas, I never saw one with this condition in the wild, and of hundreds being held in tanks for export, only a single specimen showed the signs of the pathology. To be sure, Catalaphyllia are being collected from dramatically different types of habitats, and may be collected from very different places from where they were collected years ago when they were easy-to-maintain. I could speculate logically as to many potential reasons for their current conditions and demise, but unfortunately this speculation would be no better than the complete lack of understanding of this condition that currently exists.
Because of the desirability and immense popularity of Catalaphyllia, as well as to learn more about this highly unstudied species, and to help ensure the populations of wild elegance corals and the success of them in tanks, I propose to conduct a formal study of the condition to attempt to determine its cause and any possible solutions so that once again we can enjoy healthy elegance corals in our tanks.
My research field is the investigation of coral diseases with currently unknown etiologies. I would like to volunteer my services to help provide answers to the elegance coral condition. Together with collaborative work from some of my colleagues, I believe we can determine the cause of high mortality resulting from this condition. I will attempt to do this in the most economical and efficacious manner possible, and will provide results to all applicable forums upon its completion.
Methods
I propose to collect funding and material to conduct this work, and to do so in phases so as not to require more funding or material than is necessary.
Catalaphyllia will need to be acquired from various sources, both healthy and affected with the condition. In some cases, special shipping arrangements might be required to avoid delays or exposures that might confound any pre-exisiting conditions from the wild. Corals will be sent either live, or dead and preserved for analyses. Generally, a type of formalin or alcohol fixative will be used, and not everyone will have access to some of the fixative material. I will then examine the corals working from the most obvious to the less obvious. External and gross changes will be documented in live samples with a clear description of the signs, changes, time frames and fate of the coral over which the condition occurs. I will look at the colonization of the surface flora and fauna by using sterile swabs and take samples for live material and freeze them for any future molecular work that might be required. I will prepare histoslides to examine microstructure and look for obvious abnormalities in tissue or zooxanthellae and the presence or absence of intracellular parasites or pathogens. At this point, something may or may not make itself apparent. I will prepare a report, offer my best suggestions for the next phase if the cause is still unknown, and outline the next funding and materials request.
Initial Requirements
Initially, at least, the only thing I would need is corals - as diverse in time and space as possible. For example, ordering 100 corals from the same wholesaler on the same date would be far less valuable than a handful from a number of sources over various time periods to increase the sample diversity. I will need elegance corals from as many sources as possible. The following are sources that should ideally be exploited for sample material.
Direct from the wild
Export facilities
Wholesale facilities
Retail facilities
Home aquaria
Healthy corals – the hard part
Live corals
I would like to obtain 5 –10 healthy elegance corals with at least two of these arranged to be shipped directly from the source to my lab, or to a facility who is willing to ensure that the specimens go directly into a clean covered tank with freshly made seawater using bottled distilled water and clean gloved hands. See protocols below. I will be attempting to contact sources for this material, although if anyone has such contacts and abilities, there efforts would be greatly appreciated.
As for the remainder of the healthy samples, it would require someone with enough experience to determine if a given specimen truly appears to be one unaffected by the condition. This requires either a facility with a regular turnover of Catalaphyllia or volunteers policing local stores to find the rare ones that are healthy. In any case, I think a photo should be sent to me prior to acquisition or shipping for confirmation that it does appear to not be affected. If it turns out to be affected, its not a problem as it will still contribute to the study. However, I have to acquire live healthy specimens as a control. If a healthy (or suspected to be healthy) coral is located and provided, I need that coral to be carefully collected and shipped to avoid any new sources of contamination. The process will be described below in the “techniques†section.
Tissue samples
I know I have seen at least several photos from aquarists’ tanks who have apparently healthy elegance coral in their tanks. I have one, as well. For those who have healthy elegance corals and want to keep them in their tanks (likely everyone!), a tissue sample can be used. The techniques section below outline the procedure.
Diseased corals
Live corals
Catalaphyllia showing signs of the condition can be prepared and sent using the same protocol for healthy corals. These can be from any source where they are found.
It is very important to ensure that no additional contamination occurs until I receive them. For example, if this condition is caused by a bacterium, and aquarists grab the coral with their hands and I run surface samples and find most or all have the unusual presence of non-marine types of staphylococci on them, I would erroneously look at the staph bacteria as a possible causative agent. It would be wasteful to run culture and reinfection studies looking at fulfilling Koch’s postulates when these microbes were all artifacts of human handling. The same is true of air exposure – we really want to limit the number of mold, fungus, bacteria, and other microbial organisms that are common in the air and on surfaces that could confound the tests and make the study longer, more expensive, and more difficult.
Fixed dead corals
If an affected Catalaphyllia is found and cannot be shipped live to me, I can use the whole coral or tissue samples of fixed material. For example, if someone has purchased or seen a Catalaphyllia that they feel has no chance for survival, and might not even last through the shipping process, it can be killed and fixed for study. Similarly, stores and aquarists with access to affected corals that are willing to donate tissue samples or the corals, but only if they are not alive for whatever reason, can do so through fixation. The techniques section below outlines this procedure.
Skeletons, Photography, Direct Counts, and Surface Swabs
If anyone wants to contribute to this study but cannot contribute in any of the ways above, there are still some possibly important bits of data that could be obtained. I can use skeletons of dead Catalaphyllia, photos of affected living Catalaphyllia and photos of the skeletons of recently dead Catalaphyllia, and sterile surface swabs of affected corals from tanks or from facilities. None of these do I feel will provide conclusive evidence of anything, but could potentially be used to support other findings.
Skeletons can be valuable because of the presence or absence of various organisms. The presence or absence of boring algae, fungi, mollusks, crustaceans, and other flora and fauna may be occasionally or consistently present and might deserve further investigation as to whether they play a role in the condition.
Photography is supportive and may be good in terms of documentation. It may also be able to provide evidence of gross changes or factors involved in the condition.
Another bit of information that would be helpful is epizootiological. It would be good to have some idea of the occurrence of this condition. If anyone is visiting a facility such as a fish store, wholesaler, or other source, a simple count of the number of elegance corals present and the number of affected colonies would be very helpful. Please provide the date of the count, your name and contact information, and the name of the facility, along with the count information. You can email me the information at
eborneman@uh.edu
Sterile swabs of coral surfaces could be valuable if the condition involves changes to normal biotic flora, or if there is a parasite or pathogenic microbe that effects the coral by colonizing its surface. If this is the case, sterile swabs could be supportive if detailed tissue work shows this to be the cause.
All protocols for this work are outlined below in the techniques section below.
Techniques
To provide live corals to the study (healthy or diseased)
The water in which the coral resides or freshly made seawater should be made using bottled distilled water and clean salt scoops from closed containers of salt. The coral or any tools coming in contact with the water or the coral should not be used unless previously treated aseptically using alcohol or a commercial aseptic scrub like Hibiclens.
To make or collect water, use a glass container that has been wiped down thoroughly with rubbing alcohol (preferably 90%) or ethanol. All tools used to add salt and stir the container should also be cleaned. Hands should be gloved with latex exam gloves wiped with alcohol or hands should be washed with an aseptic scrub like Hibiclens or wiped with alcohol. Once washed, avoid touching unwashed skin, hair, clothing, or other surfaces.
Water should then be poured into the shipping bag or container. If a bag (Ziploc or fish bag), the bag should be new and relatively sealed and having not been left open to the air. If a container (Tupperware or similar), the container should have its inside wiped with alcohol prior to adding the water.
Corals should be quickly removed from the tank and placed into the prepared water which is in the shipping container. The tissue itself should be handled as little as possible, grabbing the skeleton instead. For aquarists who need to use a local store for bagging and shipping, the closed container should be taken to the store and the same procedure repeated for transfer to another shipping bag. Ideally, corals will be shipped using a double bag with oxygen, with more air than water in the shipping bag. If compressed air is used, the filling tip should be wiped with alcohol prior to inserting it in the bag for filling.
The container should then be quickly sealed and shipped. All of these procedures should be timed carefully to minimize shipping durations. Generally, this means working in the afternoon for a later afternoon pickup. See shipping protocol below.
Tissue sample collection
If tissue samples or fixed coral specimens are being provided, please follow the same aseptic techniques described above, even if it is a dead coral or skeleton. Tissue samples on Catalaphyllia can be obtained easily by using a scalpel, razor blade, or sharp scissors. Tissue samples usually require some holding or handling of the coral, so please make sure gloves or aseptically cleansed hands are used. Once the tissue sample is obtained it should be immediately placed into the fixative and sealed. The same would be true of a whole colony that is affected. The colony would simply be dropped into the fixative. I will take care of all subsequent steps once I receive it. The amount of tissue required should be at least 1cm x 1cm and incorporate tentacle and oral disk, if possible and in the more affected parts of the coral. Please do not send tissue samples without fixation. They will deteriorate rapidly in seawater and be unusable for study. See fixative instruction for methods.
Photography
I will gratefully accept any photographic documentation of Catalaphyllia with the diseased condition. It might help to just take a digital camera to a few fish stores and snap some photos. I am especially grateful for photographic support of corals that are either sampled or sent to me alive or fixed. In fact, I would be very pleased to receive photos prior to receiving coral material to ensure that it is the right condition. I will also appreciate any additional photos of the tank as a whole, especially in relationship to the elegance coral. If anyone has lost an elegance coral to this condition, but has retained the skeleton, I would like to see photos of it from all angles and extremely close-up, if the camera has this capability. Please do not provide photos that are out-of focus or do not show clearly the structures or animals being photographed. You can mail hard copies to either of the addresses above, or email digital or scanned images to the email provided above. I do not have any practical limitation on size of files, and I have very fast internet lines at home and work, so don’t hold back on file size or number of files. Please provide the following information with each photo:
Your name
Date taken
Basic photo description
Contact information
If the photo accompanies other material being sent or is a stand-alone photo documentation.
I will probably ask other questions upon receiving them, but this information is fine for the time being.
Shipping
Live corals
Please use an overnight delivery service, and try to arrange for the latest possible pick-up time so that the coral spends as little time in transit as possible. Before you send anything, confirm with me the planned ship dates so I can be sure to be available or have someone available. Do not send any live animals to my lab address as there could be significant delays before they make it to my lab.
Send all live shipments to my home.
Please contact me by email to
eborneman@uh.edu for my home shipping address.
You do not need to require a signature release. All the drivers know me.
After confirmation with me for receiving a shipment, please email me the tracking number to
eborneman@uh.edu
Live corals should be packed in bags or containers and ensured that they do not leak. Double bagging or sealing of containers is highly recommended. Make sure that the boxes are well insulated with peanuts or Styrofoam, and if you are shipping in cold weather, to make sure to use a heat pack. A fish store will likely be able to provide these and the proper number for the climate at the time. Generally, one or two will be fine for small boxes. If the weather is extremely cold (or hot) please wait until more moderate conditions occur.
Fixed tissue samples, skeletons, and other non-living material
Please send these by regular ground service of your choice to the following address and make sure that if liquids are present, especially alcohol or other fixatives, that containers are rigid and well sealed, preferably with screw-on lids rather than snap-on lids. If you are sending glass containers, make sure the box is well packed and padded to avoid breakage.
Eric Borneman
Department of Biology
University of Houston
Science and Research Building II
4800 Calhoun Rd.
Houston, TX 77204
Ph 713-743-2667