Animal Sciences Commons^™

Cattle Egrets Regurgitate House Mouse Carcasses Onto A Mouse-Free Island: Implications For Rodent Eradications, Aaron B. Shiels, Mele Khalsa, Doreen L. Griffin, Clay K. Chow, Sheri S. Mann, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Eradication of invasive rodents on islands typically results in positive conservation gains, and maintaining a rodent-free island requires elevated biosecurity, including prevention of assisted rodent arrival via watercraft, aircraft and animals such as birds. Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) are widespread, and often fly several kilometres daily to roost and forage. They frequently swallow insects and vertebrates (including rodents) whole, and some regurgitate prey. Cattle egrets have been regularly observed flying between the Hawaiian Islands of Ni’ihau (where non-native mice and rats are established) and Lehua (where one species of non-native rat is established and was targeted during …

Conspecific Chemical Cues Facilitate Mate Trailing By Invasive Argentine Black And White Tegus, Shannon A. Richard, Isabella M. G. Bukovich, E. A. Tillman, Sanjiv Jayamohan, J. S. Humphrey, Paige E. Carrington, William E. Bruce, Bryan M. Kluever, Michael L. Avery, M. Rockwell Parker

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Squamate reptiles (snakes and lizards) rely on chemical cues from conspecifics to search the environment for potential mates. How such cues are used by invasive species to facilitate reproduction, especially seasonally, is a key question that can inform management practices. The Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) is an invasive reptile species in south Florida threatening native fauna in biodiverse regions such as Everglades National Park. While some information exists on the reproductive ecology of this species in its native range in South America, the chemical ecology of S. merianae is unclear especially in its invasive range. By testing …

Optimal Spatial Prioritization Of Control Resources For Elimination Of Invasive Species Under Demographic Uncertainty, Kim M. Pepin, Timothy J. Smyser, Amy J. Davis, Ryan S. Miller, Sophie Mckee, Kurt C. Vercauteren, William Kendall, Chris Slootmaker

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Populations of invasive species often spread heterogeneously across a landscape, consisting of local populations that cluster in space but are connected by dispersal. A fundamental dilemma for invasive species control is how to optimally allocate limited fiscal resources across local populations. Theoretical work based on perfect knowledge of demographic connectivity suggests that targeting local populations from which migrants originate (sources) can be optimal. However, demographic processes such as abundance and dispersal can be highly uncertain, and the relationship between local population density and damage costs (damage function) is rarely known. We used a metapopulation model to understand how budget and …

A Comparison Of Cost And Quality Of Three Methods For Estimating Density For Wild Pig (Sus Scrofa), Amy J. Davis, David A. Keiter, Elizabeth M. Kierepka, C. Slootmaker, Antoinette J. Piaggio, James C. Beasley, K. M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A critical element in effective wildlife management is monitoring the status of wildlife populations; however, resources to monitor wildlife populations are typically limited. We compared cost effectiveness of three common population estimation methods (i.e. non-invasive DNA sampling, camera sampling, and sampling from trapping) by applying them to wild pigs (Sus scrofa) across three habitats in South Carolina, U.S.A where they are invasive. We used mark-recapture analyses for fecal DNA sampling data, spatially-explicit capture-recapture analyses for camera sampling data, and a removal analysis for removal sampling from trap data. Density estimates were similar across methods. Camera sampling was the least expensive, …

Technical Limitations Associated With Molecular Barcoding Of Arthropod Bloodmeals Taken From North American Deer Species, Erin M. Borland, Daniel A. Hartman, Matthew W. Hopken, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Rebekah C. Kading

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Accurate species-level identification of the source of arthropod bloodmeals is important for deciphering blood feeding patterns of field-collected specimens. Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene sequencing has been used for this purpose; however, species resolution can be difficult to obtain from certain vertebrate genera, including Odocoileus. Sanger sequencing of mitochondrial genes was employed to identify the bloodmeal source of wild-caught mosquitoes trapped in Greeley, Colorado. Initial sequencing of the COI gene of mitochondrial DNA in bloodmeals was inadequate for species-level resolution of bloodmeals from deer in the genus Odocoileus, with current databases returning low fidelity matches to …

Additive And Non-Additive Responses Of Seedlings To Simulated Herbivory And Drought, Kasey Barton, Aaron B. Shiels

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Drought is a global threat, increasing in severity and frequency throughout tropical ecosystems. Although plants often face drought in conjunction with biotic stressors, such as herbivory or disease, experimental studies infrequently test the simultaneous effects of drought and biotic stress. Because multiple simultaneous stressors may have non-additive and complex effects on plant performance, it is difficult to predict plant responses to multiple threats from research examining one stress at a time. Using an experimental approach in the greenhouse, we investigated potential non-additivity in seedling growth and survival to simulated drought and herbivory across a phylogenetically diverse pool of ten Hawaiian …

Competing Reproductive And Physiological Investments In An All‑Female Lizard, The Colorado Checkered Whiptail, Lise M. Aubry, Spencer B. Hudson, Bryan M. Kluever, Alison C. Webb, Susannah S. French

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Organisms in the wild have to allocate limited resources towards competing functions such as reproduction, growth, and self-maintenance. These competing investments create significant changes in physiological activity, and we still know little about the relationship between physiological activity and reproductive investment in natura. We investigated trade-offs between physiological activity and reproductive investment in the parthenogenetic Colorado checkered whiptail, Aspidoscelis neotesselata, across three different sites at the US Army Fort Carson Military Installation near Colorado Springs, CO, through-out the reproductive season in 2018 and 2019. We measured clutch size and reproductive activity and quantified plasma corticosterone (CORT), reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), …

Piscivorous Bird Use Of Aquaculture And Natural Water Bodies In Mississippi, Paul C. Burr, Jimmy I. Avery, Garrett M. Street, Bronson K. Strickland, Brian S. Dorr

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) and great egrets (Ardea alba) have an extensive history of human wildlife conflict with the aquaculture industry of western Mississippi, USA, due to

their depredation of cultured catfish (Ictalurus spp.). Although aquaculture is abundant, western Mississippi also contains naturally occurring water bodies that offer alternative forage opportunities to these species. How cormorants or egrets distribute themselves among these 2 foraging options is unknown, but it has been generally assumed each species uses aquaculture disproportionately more because of the high density of available prey. To test this assumption, we surveyed these …

The Changing Triad Of Plague In Uganda: Invasive Black Rats (Rattus Rattus), Indigenous Small Mammals, And Their Fleas, Russell E. Enscore, Nackson Babi, Gerald Amatre, Linda Atiku, Rebecca J. Eisen, Kim M. Pepin, Rommelle Vera-Tudela, Christopher Sexton, Kenneth L. Gage

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rattus rattus was first reported from the West Nile Region of Uganda in 1961, an event that preceded the appearance of the first documented human plague outbreak in 1970. We investigated how invasive R. rattus and native small mammal populations, as well as their fleas, have changed in recent decades. Over an 18-month period, a total of 2,959 small mammals were captured, sampled, and examined for fleas, resulting in the identification of 20 small mammal taxa that were hosts to 5,109 fleas (nine species). Over three-fourths (75.8%) of captured mammals belonged to four taxa: R. rattus, which predominated inside huts, …

Psychological Drivers Of Risk-Reducing Behaviors To Limit Human–Wildlife Conflict, Stacy A. Lischka, Tara L. Teel, Heather E. Johnson, Courtney Larson, Stewart Breck, Kevin R. Crooks

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Conflicts between people and wild animals are increasing globally, often with serious consequences

for both. Local regulations or ordinances are frequently used to promote human behaviors that minimize these conflicts (risk-reducing behaviors), but compliance with ordinances can be highly variable. While efforts to increase compliance could be improved through applications of conservation psychology, little is known about the relative influence of different factors motivating compliance. Using concepts from psychology and risk theory, we conducted a longitudinal study pairing data from mail surveys with direct observations of compliance with a wildlife ordinance requiring residents to secure residential garbage from black bears …

Rnai: Applications In Vertebrate Pest Management, Katherine Horak

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sequence-directed inhibition of protein synthesis by RNAi has potential as a means to control pest wildlife. Species specific by design, RNAi reduces impacts on nontarget species and the environment. Additional research advancing the field of RNAi-based management of vertebrate pest wildlife is timely.

Despite the potential diverse applications of RNAi technology in vertebrates (fertility control, invasive species eradication, and pest species control to protect human health and agriculture), little progress has been made in applying RNAi to these classes of animals. A single proof-of-concept study using RNAi to control sea lampreys combined with recent advances in RNAi delivery have opened …

Avian Influenza A Virus Associations In Wild, Terrestrial Mammals: A Review Of Potential Synanthropic Vectors To Poultry Facilities, J. Jeffrey Root, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The potential role of wild mammals in the epidemiology of influenza A viruses (IAVs) at the farm-side level has gained increasing consideration over the past two decades. In some instances, select mammals may be more likely to visit riparian areas (both close and distant to farms) as well as poultry farms, as compared to traditional reservoir hosts, such as waterfowl. Of significance, many mammalian species can successfully replicate and shed multiple avian IAVs to high titers without prior virus adaptation and often can shed virus in greater quantities than synanthropic avian species. Within this review, we summarize and discuss the …

Improving The Accessibility And Transferability Of Machine Learning Algorithms For Identification Of Animals In Camera Trap Images: Mlwic2, Michael A. Tabak, Mohammad S. Norouzzadeh, David W. Wolfson, Erica J. Newton, Raoul K. Boughton, Jacob S. Ivan, Eric Odell, Eric S. Newkirk, Reesa Y. Conrey, Jennifer Stenglein, Fabiola Iannarilli, John Erb, Ryan K. Brook, Amy J. Davis, Jesse Lewis, Daniel P. Walsh, James C. Beasley, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Jeff Clune, Ryan S. Miller

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Motion-activated wildlife cameras (or “camera traps”) are frequently used to remotely and noninvasively observe animals. The vast number of images collected from camera trap projects has prompted some biologists to employ machine learning algorithms to automatically recognize species in these images, or at least filter-out images that do not contain animals. These approaches are often limited by model transferability, as a model trained to recognize species from one location might not work as well for the same species in different locations. Furthermore, these methods often require advanced computational skills, making them inaccessible to many biologists. We used 3 million camera …

Tissue Tropisms Of Avian Influenza A Viruses Affect Their Spillovers From Wild Birds To Pigs, Xiaojian Zhang, Fred L. Cunningham, Lei Li, Katie Hanson-Dorr, Liyuan Liu, Kaitlyn Waters, Minhui Guan, Alicia K. Olivier, Brandon S. Schmit, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Andrew S. Bowman, Mia Kim Torchetti, Thomas J. Deliberto, Xiu-Feng Wan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wild aquatic birds maintain a large, genetically diverse pool of influenza A viruses (IAVs), which can be transmitted to lower mammals and, ultimately, humans. Through phenotypic analyses of viral replication efficiency, only a small set of avian IAVs were found to replicate well in epithelial cells of the swine upper respiratory tract, and these viruses were shown to infect and cause virus shedding in pigs. Such a phenotypic trait of the viral replication efficiency appears to emerge randomly and is distributed among IAVs across multiple avian species and geographic and temporal orders. It is not determined by receptor binding preference …

Using Bioenergetics And Radar-Derived Bird Abundance To Assess The Impact Of A Blackbird Roost On Seasonal Sunflower Damage, Bonnie A. Clark, Page E. Klug, Phillip M. Stepanian, Jeffrey F. Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Methods aimed at reducing avian damage to agricultural crops are routinely implemented in situations where efficacy can be assessed by quantifying blackbird (Icteridae) abundance relative to environmental variables and extrapolating to ensuing crop damage. Concomitantly, Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR) data may have potential to enhance crop damage mitigation through improved monitoring of nuisance wildlife populations. We used WSR to derive daily abundance estimates of blackbirds at a fall roost in North Dakota, USA from 2012 to 2019. We integrated these estimates with previously developed bioenergeticseconomic models to estimate local sunflower (Helianthus annuus) damage. The greatest losses usually occurred during …

Historic And Contemporary Use Of Catfish Aquaculture By Piscivorous Birds In The Mississippi Delta, Paul C. Burr, Jimmy L. Avery, Garrett M. Street, Bronson K. Strickland, Brian S. Dorr

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Piscivorous birds are the primary source of catfish (Ictalurus spp.) depredation at aquaculture facilities in northwestern Mississippi. Of particular concern is the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), which can cost aquaculture producers millions of dollars annually through the depredation of cultured fish. Historical research conducted in the early 2000s estimated cormorant use of aquaculture ponds in the region, but aquaculture area has decreased by more than 70% since those estimates were made. With less aquaculture available, we predicted cormorant densities on aquaculture would be greater today than historically. Applying a similar methodology as in historical studies, we used …

Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta Monarchus Boddaert, 1783), Michael L. Avery

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Common Names: Monk Parakeet, Quaker Parakeet, Quaker Parrot, Quaker Conure, Grey-headed Parakeet

The natural distribution of the Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus Boddaert, 1783) extends from southern Bolivia, through Paraguay, southern Brazil and Uruguay to southern Argentina (Fig. 10.1 ). It is documented as invasive in a range of countries, and of these, there are at least 17 countries where they are breeding in the wild, as detailed below. ...

The Monk Parakeet is among the most successful invasive bird species in the world. Unlike many other invasive birds, such as the Ring-necked Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) and the …

Control Or Eradication: Problems In The Management Of Invasive Birds, Michael L. Avery, Chris J. Feare

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Humans have captured, transported and intentionally released wild birds for centuries (Blackburn et al., 2009). Motivations for such purposeful introductions include food (West and Zhou, 2007), religion (Agoramoorthy and Hsu, 2007), sport (McDowall, 1994), biocontrol (Bennett and Hughes, 1959; Kurdila, 1995) and aesthetics (Ryan, 1906; Thomson, 1922). Many purposeful bird introductions were the work of acclimatization societies, particularly in North America, New Zealand and Australia. These societies were formed in the 19th century by European settlers to transport bird species from their homelands in efforts to establish them in the newly settled regions (Thomson, 1922; Dunlap, 1997). As a result …

Invasive Species Control And Resolution Of Wildlife Damage Conflicts: A Framework For Chemical And Genetically Based Management Methods, Larry Clark, John Eisemann, John Godwin, Katherine Horak, Kevin Oh, Jeanette R. O'Hare, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Kim M. Pepin, Emily W. Ruell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Vertebrate wildlife damage management relates to developing and employing methods to mitigate against damage caused by wildlife in the areas of food production, property damage, and animal or human health and safety. Of the many management tools available, chemical methods (e.g., toxicants) draw the most attention owing to issues related to environmental burden, species specificity, and humaneness. Research and development focusing on RNA interference and gene drives may be able to address the technical aspects of performance goals. However, there remain many questions about regulation, environmental risk, and societal acceptance for these emerging biological technologies. Here we focus on the …

Movement Behavior Of Radio-Tagged European Starlings In Urban, Rural, And Exurban Landscapes, Page E. Klug, H. Jeffrey Homan

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Since their intentional introduction into the United States in the 1800s, European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have become the fourth most common bird species and a nuisance bird pest in both urban and rural areas. Managers require better information about starling movement and habit-use patterns to effectively manage starling populations and the damage they cause. Thus, we revisited 6 radio-telemetry studies conducted during fall or winter between 2005 and 2010 to compare starling movements (n = 63 birds) and habitat use in 3 landscapes. Switching of roosting and foraging sites in habitat-sparse rural landscapes caused daytime (0900–1500 hours) …

Repellent Surface Applications For Pest Birds, Shelagh T. Deliberto, James C. Carlson, Hailey E. Mclean, Caroline S. Olson, Scott J. Werner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Common pest birds in the United States include the non-native European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and the pigeon (Columba livia domestica), as well as native birds including Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and gull species (Laridae). Large concentrations of pest birds can create human health hazards and monetary losses due to consumption of crops, depredation, and fecal contamination and accumulation. Fecal contamination hazards include the potential spread of zoonotic diseases including antimicrobial-resistant zoonoses and human injury due to the accumulation of fecal material on walking surfaces. Additionally, fecal accumulation causes …

Serum Chemistry Values In Wild Black Vultures In Mississippi, Usa, Fred L. Cunningham, Sherman W. Jack, Amanda R. Deese, Eric R. Wengert, Kyle Van Why, Carla L. Huston, Scott Lemmons, Richard B. Minnis

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Vultures (Cathartidae and Accipitridae) play an important role in ecosystem balance by rapidly disposing animal carcasses and thus preventing the potential spread of pathogens. Blood chemistry values provide a means of assessing the health of wildlife and wild animal populations; however, there are significant differences in chemistries among species and when comparing captive and free-living New and Old World vultures. In 2007, we collected blood serum from 30 female and 14 male wild, healthy black vultures (Coragyps atratus) live-trapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services from a power substation in …

Black Vulture Conflict And Management In The United States: Damage Trends, Management Overview, And Research Needs, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan Pfeiffer, Scott C. Barras, Brett Dunlap, Lee A. Humberg

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contrary to rapid declines of many vulture (Accipitridae, Cathartidea) species worldwide, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) populations are increasing and expanding their range in North America. Vultures exhibit complex behaviors and can adapt to any human-dominated landscape or land use. These traits, combined with population growth and range expansion, have contributed to increased human–vulture conflicts. Our goal was to summarize the current status and trends in human–black vulture conflicts (hereafter human– vulture conflicts), review available management strategies, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to enhance management and understanding of this species and the associated conflicts. We found human–vulture conflicts …

Review Of Ospreys: The Revival Of A Global Raptor, By Alan F. Poole. 2019., Lisa Fields, Brian E. Washburn

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

For the past three decades, Alan Poole’s (1989) Ospreys: A Natural and Unnatural History has provided a solid foundation for those seeking a primer on the basic biology and ecology of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus). Poole’s summary of knowledge about Ospreys was written at a time when these amazing birds were recovering from their DDTinduced population crash, but this important book has long been out of print. In the intervening decades, much has been learned regarding Ospreys. In his new book, Ospreys: The Revival of a Global Raptor, Poole guides the reader through a tour of Ospreys’ worldwide distribution and population …

Population Increases Of Large Birds In North America Pose Challenges For Aviation Safety, Richard A. Dolbeer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

There is a strong correlation between bird mass and the likelihood of aircraft damage during a bird–aircraft collision. Thus, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established airworthiness standards related to bird mass for engines, airframes, and windshields. Most standards use large (1.8 kg) and medium (1.1 kg) birds as benchmarks (the empennage and certain large turbofan engines use a 3.6-kg bird). There are 20 large (≥1.8 kg) and 16 medium (1.1–1.7 kg) bird species in North America with ≥20 strikes reported for civil aircraft (FAA National Wildlife Strike Database), 1990 to 2018. I analyzed the population changes of these …

One Step Closer To A Better Starling Trap, James R. Thiele

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are an invasive species in the United States that damage agriculture, personal property, and threaten human health and safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services provides technical support to mitigate damage by controlling starling populations at concentrated animal feeding operations, landfills, utilities, and urban areas. Wildlife Services uses DRC-1339, a registered toxicant, to reduce starling populations. Trapping can also be an effective tool but requires more time at a higher cost than DRC-1339. Trapping starlings, however, may be needed to provide a viable alternative to mitigate damage in areas where toxicant use may …

Sampling The Local Fare: Fishes At The Sam Israel House Pit (45gr76), Soap Lake, Washington, Adam Fruge

All Master's Theses

The Sam Israel site is a precontact archaeological complex with numerous fish bones at the north end of Soap Lake, Washington. Excavated in 1976, the fish remains recovered from there were never fully analyzed prior to this research. Since this inland Columbia Plateau site had thousands of fish bones, it contained untapped potential for our understanding of ancient local fish procurement. As such, I conducted a detailed analysis of 2,862 fish bone specimens from the Sam Israel House Pit locus to: study a larger sample of fish bones in greater detail than was done before; compare the distribution of fishes …

Assessing The Hierarchy Of Long-Term Environmental Controls On Diatom Communities Of Yellowstone National Park Using Lacustrine Sediment Records, Victoria Chraibi, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

An ecosystem’s ability to maintain structure and function following disturbance, defined as resilience, is influenced by a hierarchy of environmental controls, including climate, surface cover, and ecological relationships that shape biological community composition and productivity. This study examined lacustrine sediment records of naturally fishless lakes in Yellowstone National Park to reconstruct the response of aquatic communities to climate and trophic cascades from fish stocking. Sediment records of diatom algae did not exhibit a distinct response to fish stocking in terms of assemblage or algal productivity. Instead, 3 of 4 lakes underwent a shift to dominance by benthic diatom species from …

Can Farmers And Bats Co-Exist? Farmer Attitudes, Knowledge, And Experiences With Bats In Belize, Hannah G. Shapiro, Adam S. Willcox, Mallory Tate, Emma V. Willcox

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Bats (Chiroptera) are often viewed negatively by the public. Negative public perceptions of bats may hinder efforts to conserve declining populations. In Belize, the presence of vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus and Diphylla ecaudata) exacerbates the potential for conflicts with humans because of the increased rabies transmission risks. To mitigate these risks, the Belize government provides farmers with assistance to trap and remove vampire bats. In June 2018, we surveyed farmers (n = 44) in and adjacent to the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize to learn more about their attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with bats. This information may …

First Records For Spawning Of Caribbean Acropora Species In Colombian Mpas, David M. Hudson, Barrett L. Christie, Luis A. Gómez-Lemos, Camilo Valcarcel, Diego Duque, Juan C. Zárate Arévalo, Jaime Rojas, Otto Reyes, Milena Marrugo, Maria Rosa, Israel A. Caicedo Torrado, Diana Tarazona, Carlos Zuluaga

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Estimates of Colombian Caribbean coral percent cover in the Southern Caribbean are consistent with those throughout the Caribbean Sea, which has declined to about 10% of historical levels in the last few decades. Human activities like destructive fishing techniques in the marine parks have degraded the reefs over the last few decades. Colombia’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have thousands of square kilometers to map and patrol and few resources to devote to scientific and restoration efforts. Efforts to implement sexual reproduction techniques for restoration are starting to successfully propagate and settle corals on ceramic plates for reef deployment in the …