You can help the hobby fight the scourge of AEFW’s!

by | Nov 21, 2013 | Corals, Invertebrates, Science | 0 comments

flatwormseggcluster2_zpsad8962fb (1)You can help the hobby fight the scourge of AEFW’s!

Dr. Kate Rawlinson the scientist responsible for officially identifying the Acropora eating flatworm Amakusaplana acroporae and quite possibly the worlds foremost authority on them has teamed up with Cat Dybala, President of theMarine Aquarium Society of Houston to set up experimental systems specifically for culturing AEFW with the hopes of answering critical questions on its life cycle such as, How long does it take for the eggs to hatch? How long can the adults survive without food? and How long does it take for the worms to reach sexual maturity? The ultimate goal is to develop an empirically based protocol for control of these pests..

They have just launched a crowd funding site to raise money for the experiments and to help Kate travel from Canada to Texas to assist with experimental design and with the analysis – particularly of the embryos and hatchlings. They have 50 days to reach their target goal of $5,141. Any and all contributions would really go a long way toward helping to finally find a way to effectively treat and eradicate these troublesome pests from our aquariums.

Kate is truly an expert in the field having authored several articles on the subject including this detailed accounting of our current knowledge of the pests in our own Reefs Magazine:

http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/reefs-magazine/145123-mucous-trail-coral-killers-acropora-eating-flatworms.html

Details of the project can be found here:

https://www.microryza.com/projects/the-life-cycle-of-a-coral-killer-the-acropora-eating-flatworm

I am confident that this project is worthy of your support. Reefs.com will be making a contribution as well.

  • Randy Donowitz

    Randy Donowitz has been keeping aquariums most of his life. During the mid 1980s and 90s he was consumed with the breeding of African Cichlids. In 1994 he purchased his first marine system- a simple 55 gallon reef setup and he has been an incurable coralholic ever since. Randy's articles have appeared in numerous hobbyist publications including Aquarium Frontiers, Advanced Aquarist, Marine Fish and Reef USA Annual and Aquarium Fish magazine. Currently, he curates and maintains the 3 system, 700 gallon coral reef display at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where he enjoys the privilege of sharing his knowledge and love of the hobby with students, staff, and community members from around the Tri-State area.

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