Live Coral Transplants at Biorock Experimental Pyramid Structures

December 16, 2004

Professor Joe Valencic

On Dec 16, 2004, 5 live corals were attached to the Biorock pyramid-shaped experimental structures in front of Zebra Station. The corals were collected from a previous night dive at location HB-16, an upside down barge located approximately 2 km off the center of the crescent at Palm Island. The following digital pictures document Mounting and size.

The five live coral samples collected from location HB-16 and ready for transplant to the pyramid-shaped Biorock experimental structures at station Zebra, Palm Island

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Mounted coral attached by white waterproof epoxy putty and

Secured in place by a yellow nylon string.

Three of the live corals were transported to the pyramid-shaped structure closest to the anode and the remaining two distant to the anode. All corals were mounted on the extruded sheet side using the identical mounting method of white underwater epoxy paste with yellow nylon string to secure coral to Biorock.

Live coral mounted to pyramid-shaped Biorock structure located closest to the Anode.

Live coral mounted to the upper section of the pyramid-shaped Biorock structure located distant to the Anode. Note the larger openings on the upper portion of the extruded sheet compared to that of the structure closest to the anode.

Live coral mounted near the top of the Pyramid-shaped Biorock structure located closest to the Anode. The much smaller open spaces on the extruded sheet indicate the higher rates of accretion. Note that the top of the section is almost entirely covered and few openings in the extruded sheet that forms the cathode can be seen.

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One of four Arabian Angle fish that have taken up residence in the inner portion of the pyramid located closest to the Anode. Several species of smaller fish occupy the inner portion of the pyramid structure distant to the anode. A tingling sensation can be felt by the diver on the head when close to this area. At this location 10 amps of DC current flow between the 0.5 meter spaced anode and cathode. Perhaps this tingling has attracted the Arabian Angelfish because they congregate in this same area.