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Moody Gardens Aquarium Partnership Update & Donation Opportunity (1 Viewer)

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sneezebeetle

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Moody Gardens Partnership Update and Opportunity


Moody Gardens Aquarium (and our favorite Coral Biologist Ryan (aka @Seaturtle) is starting a new research project partnered with Rice University and UT Austin. This project will help to provide valuable information to researchers as they will be looking at zooxanthellae distribution via corallivore fish. Over the years, we have really enjoyed our partnership with Moody Gardens Aquarium and have enjoyed seeing Ryan’s updates, having his expertise available to us, and visiting them during our back stage tours. You may recall we answered the call a few years back when it was time for Moody Gardens to restart their reef exhibit, 10 years after Hurricane Ike played a part in the tragic loss of their last reef exhibit. We supported them through our “Let it Grow” campaign, voluntary coral and fish donations, and Grow Out Challenge. We were also very fortunate to have the support of a few of our Local Sponsor Stores (@FJW and @ThatAquariumPlace)

The start date for this project is in December. Moody Gardens Aquarium is currently seeking to acquire a very specific coral species for this project, Acropora Millipora. As of right now, they are terribly under stocked and are reaching out to our community to let us know of this donation opportunity. Specifically, they are seeking Acropora Millipora frags of 2”- 3” minimum. These do not need to be your high dollar, hard to find, show piece Millipora…They would be happy to receive your everyday, common, no name Millipora.

Ideally they would like to have all donations by the 10th of December, but this project is an ongoing research project with others to follow so donations are always welcome.

MARSHians who donate specific to this project will have the potential opportunity to have their name listed in the research acknowledgement section.

If you are interested in donating, I will be planning a trip out there on the 9th of December to drop off donations and would be happy to transport for you. If you have any questions, or would like more information please feel free to PM me, or post your question below. This donation opportunity is completely voluntary, however your donation would be greatly appreciated.
 

Seaturtle

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For those interested in some additional information here is a link to the preprint of the paper where the research is being discussed. Our intent is to bring this into the lab for additional experimental testing. We are very thankful to everyone that helps support our ventures into new and exciting realms of research and conservation and as we grow we hope to see the MARSH group grow alongside us in contributing towards a better understanding of the natural reef environments.

Fish predation on corals promotes the dispersal of coral symbionts

'Animal husbandry always leads towards conservation'
-Brian Nelson, Curator of Fish at National Aquarium
 
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sneezebeetle

sneezebeetle

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I checked in with the Moody Crew and our aquatic friends to see how they fared through the arctic blast. They report that they are OK! They did have a period of power outage but are very thankful their generators kept everything going.

Ryan (@Seaturtle) did as me to let everyone know that they are thinking about those that have lost their own aquariums at home. They know how hard it can be to lose a system.

One unique opportunity that the arctic blast provided was the chance for the Moody Penguins to get out and experience the snow! I hope you enjoy these pics :)
 

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