End of Week 2

We wrapped up the week at USFSP with some more great food and work on the Weatherbird II (Big thanks to Thomas and the rest of the crew) and a trip in the afternoon to The Florida Aquarium. There were a lot of great exhibits and it was cool to see the coral farm they had on the top floor. They research and rehabilitate about 16 species of stony corals and 9 species of soft corals. It was interesting to see them using natural sunlight in a greenhouse-like setup because all coral farm setups I have ever seen have used artificial lighting indoors. Only staff was allowed inside but here is a picture of the coral tank from the St. Pete Times:

A word that caught my attention came from the research paper on coral bleaching. It is holobiont- which when applied to a coral, describes a whole coral being made up of many separate parts including: the individual coral polyps, the zooxanthellae, the bacteria inside the coral tissue, and even the fungi that parasitize algae living in the coral skeleton. Here's a link for more info: The Coral Holobiont.