These instructions allow to quantitatively assess stress in corals by measuring oxygen production (photosynthesis) of its algal symbionts.

Equipment & Materials:

• Respirometry stand- a table with 8 metabolic cells (L49cm X W31cm X H32cm)

• Big tank/cooler that can contain the metabolic cells table

• Aquarium to raise all coral fragments

• 6 Volt, 2.8 Amp rechargeable battery + Battery charger + British socket adaptor

• Water cooler and a heater that can be set and monitored

• Water pump

• Lighting panel with variable intensities

• 8 magnetic stir bars (35-40mm)

• Magnetic stir bar retriever (stick)

• 2 consoles of FireSting-O2 (pyroscience)

• 8 oxygen sensors (pyroscience)

• 2 temperature sensors (Pt100) (pyroscience)

• Air pump

• 2 water pumps (to circulate the water in the tank)

• Laptop with the Pyroscience workbench installed

• Syringe

• HOBO

• Quantum (PAR) meter (µmol photons/m-2/s-1)

• Aluminum foil / black plastic – big enough to cover all the cells

• 1L glass beaker

• 50ml glass flask with narrow opening

• Salinity meter

• Coral health chart

• Camera (can be a phone camera)

• Sea water

• DDW

• 4-5 fragments from five different colonies on plugs

• 0% oxygen calibration capsules

• Plasteline

• Parafilm

Initial setups prior to the experiment:

Pyroscience software:

Download the pyroscience workbench and data-inspector from here: Pyroscience. Be aware that there are several products, choose the “downloads” that are relevant for the FSO2-C4 : Optical Oxygen & Temp Meter FireSting®-O2 (4 Channels). In addition to the software installer, download the relevant PDF manuals.