1. Effects of Vitamin C on Caribbean Acropora Species Gabriel
Pastrana Castellanos Research Proposal Rise Program June 2015
2. The Problem Picture showing many bleached colonies of
Acropora palmatapicture taken from griseus.tumblr.com
3. Problem In the past few decades most of the Caribbean's
reef- building coral populations have been wiped out due to a
number of factors like: diseases, ocean acidification, rising ocean
temperatures, and pollution just to name a few. The two most
important reef-building corals in the Caribbean are Acropora
palmata and Acropora cerviconis and both of these species have
suffered extensive damage to their populations.
4. Why is This Topic Important? As mentioned earlier, the
Caribbean's main reef- building coral species are being lost at
alarming rates. These corals that are being lost are a very
important and indispensable part of our reef ecosystem which
provide us with shore protection, tourism, ande vast fisheries
among other things. Loosing the Caribbean's reefs would be a major
environmental and economic disaster for the countries in the
Caribbean.
5. Acropora palmata Acropora palmata picture taken from
http://coral.aims.gov.au
6. How Would I Solve This Problem? Based on other research I
believe that if you add Vitamin C to the water you could increase
the coral's growth. Well, I propose to do an experiment in which we
could test the growth rate of Acropora palmata in the presence of
different concentrations of Vitamin C in its water to see if there
is any increase in coral growth rate.
7. How Would I Solve This Problem? This experiment has been
done on soft coral species and yielded positive results. If I can
manage to prove that Vitamin C helps accelerate Acropora palmata's
growth then this could be used to cultivate more corals in a
shorter amount of time so more of them can be reintroduced into
their environment. You could also develop a product that stimulates
coral growth for the saltwater aquarium hobby.
