Cultivo del coral cuerno de alce Acropora palmata en un sistema recirculado utilizando agua de mar sintética

This study assessed the survival of Acropora palmata fragments under controlled experimental conditions over a period of four months in a recirculating artificial seawater system. The coral fragments (5-9 cm long) were fixed in aragocrete and placed in an aquarium under a photoperiod of 12 h light: 12 h dark, using 150 W lamps (10000 K). The survival rate was 58%. Fragment mortality occurred mostly during the first month, which was associated to the process of bleaching stress as a result of fragmentation. These results showed that the conditioning in captivity of A. palmata using artificial seawater has potential as a viable tool to help the conservation of this species.