Inorganic Fertilizer and Coral Bleaching BIL 151 Dr. Dan DiResta Fall 2005 Danny Benito, Neera Khurana, Vijal Patel & Nancy Williams

Question: Does exposure to Nitrate cause coral bleaching? Purpose To explore the effects of Nitrate on Aiptasia pallida and Xenia sp. Question: Does exposure to Nitrate cause coral bleaching? We will add Nitrate to the coral tank to test coral bleaching. It will be measured by zooxanthealle density.

Hypothesis H̥: Upon the addition of Nitrate, the zooxanthealle density will remain the same. H1: Upon the addition of Nitrate, the zooxanthealle density will decrease.

Procedure Add 0.5 mg of Nitrate to the test aquarium Measure zooxantheallae density once per week for six weeks.

Controls Everything remains constant including light, salinity, and temperature in the control and experimental tank except for the addition of Nitrate.

Works Cited Cokos, B., Jones, S., McClanahan, T.R., Pietri, D., Steneck, R.S. Interaction Between Inorganic Nutrients and Organic Matter in Controlling Coral Reef Communities in Glovers Reef, Belize. Mar Poll Bull 2005 May; 50 (5): 566-575.