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<DIV><FONT size=2>Hello,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I would like to throw in some ideas that came to me while
working on nutrient enrichment on aquarium grown nubbins of S. pistillata. From
my few month experience in this kind of experiments and with a close look at the
literature published, I thought that there is a crucial need of some
standardization. Indeed, nutrient enrichment experiments have produced a large
amount of data which is hardly comparable. during my work, I experienced trouble
finding the right protocol. What I wanted was a constant enrichment of iron
and/or nitrate in my experimental tanks and this is only feasible with a precise
protocol. A lot of laboratory based enrichment studies were done by "flushing"
periodically some elevated concentrations of a given nutrient in the tanks and
very few studies actually measured the "real" amount of nutrient present in the
system at all times. My ecotoxicology course are still in my memory, and in this
field, there are some standardized bioassays published, making it easy for
researchers to perform experiments which are reproducible and easily compared
with each other. I think that this could be done in coral research: there could
be protocols set up which would be very useful for comparisons between
geographical areas and growth conditions. A reproducible protocol on coral
nubbins and whole colonies performed in laboratory conditions is very feasible
(the protocol I use would be) and the same reproducibility is probably
achievable (although probably requiring more sophisticated techniques) in the
field on colonies of single species and on coral communities. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I would welcome any ideas about the subject, which has puzzled
me for some time.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I 'm not a researcher yet, but only a Master's degree student
discovering the hard time of research on corals so I hope you don't find me a
bit presomptuous! This is only an idea that came from struggling through
literature!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Thanks for your reactions.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>MICKY </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Vanessa M. SCHOELZKE<BR>FRANCE<BR>Tel: (33) 0662592560<BR><A
href="mailto:mickyfit@club-internet.fr">mickyfit@club-internet.fr</A><BR><A
href="mailto:mickyfit@yahoo.com">mickyfit@yahoo.com</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>