CEE was contracted to design and construct research systems, and as a collaborative research scientist for the National Science Foundation award: “The Physiology and Ecology of Widespread Stress-Tolerant Coral Endosymbiont”. Bi-annual, two month research expeditions were conducted at the Palau International Coral Reef Center for 4 years, with a research team from Penn State, University of Delaware, and the Univeristy of Alabama, Birmingham, resulting in several peer-reviewed publications.

Existing raceways are outfit with recirculation pumps, heaters, chillers, and temperature control systems.

Raceways are plumbed with drains, seawater feeds, and outfit with pvc shadecloth frames.

Coral fragging station is setup.

Thousands of experimental fragments are produced, sampled, epoxied to stamped tiles, and affixed to vexar sheets for field deployment and laboratory experimentation.

Large arrays are constructed to be deployed and secured in place for four years at several nearshore and offshore field sites.

Multiple replicate fragments of colony genotypes are produced. Half are outplanted to field sites and the other half are maintained at the facility for molecular analyses and physiological experiments.

Small tissue samples are taken from thousands of experimental colonies for molecular identification of Symbiodiniaceae populations and biometric analyses (Chl, Protein, Lipids, Carbohydrate, and symbiont density).