You're right, I misspell Delbeek's name probably 30% of the time. (I can actually think back to the moment a couple decades ago I set the wrong spelling in my memory, giving someone asking me questions about a clients tank the title of thier book and mispelling Delbeek's name.
)
To expound on my previous post:
I refferenced Delbeek an Sprung and Nilsen and Fossa since they are the earliest refferences I could document and others could look up. I also credit their writing for helping me undestand a little better what's happening in my reef ssytems and hence my success over the years. Personally though, and before their books, I was fortunate enough to be mentored in the early 90's by two aquarists who started in the mid 70's who were both proponents of live rock but that's anecdotal.
By '97 I had already seen success setting up clients tanks adding fish and corals in less than 48 hours when I had a conversation with the director of the infectious disease department of a local hospital. It was a brief but seminal discussion about bacteria. I don't remember it word for word but the gist of what she said was what really defined a bacteria as "Good" or "Bad" was if it was were it was supposed to be. The take away for me I needed to think beyond just nitrates and phosphates and nitrification, these systems really needed to be thought of as a single entity. Do what's best for the system first even if it doesn't help a coral. And on a more practical level I found using water from a "healthy" system would often help a system that wasn't doing so well.
So, my insistence on live rock is based not only on the opinions (based on their extensive experiences) of local and international experts from a wide range of backgrounds but also of over a couple decades of personal experience proving, to me at least, they were correct.
But that's all anecdotal and could be pure fabrication. I would point out, since then it doesn't matter where in the life sciences we look, whether it's our own physical and mental health or sustainable farming, having the right microbial balance, microbiome is often used now, is essential for a healthy ecosystem.
For visual reference I offer a video of a system setup using live rock but no skimmer as discussed by Delbeek and Sprung in Vol I and there's also the videos in my build thread of a system set up in '97. (There's more of my stuff at youtube.com/timfishone and in the next month or so I'll be starting a build thread of a solar powered pure Lee Chin Eng system for those who want to follow.)
A couple additional comments
To start with, we are clearly looking to the microbial processes in reef systems. The science looking at the various and conflicting roles of microbial processes on reef systems is VERY complex and is constantly expanding. A really good introduction for those interested is Forest Rohwer's "
Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas". I would strongly recommend reading it before reading the links I've posted below.
A second note, much of waht we've learned about microbial proccesses is using 16S rDNA. One of the surprises using 16 S rDNA testing has shown us is the vast majority of the microbes identified are unculturable.
So far Aquabiomics is the only one I've found to look specifically at what's happening with the microbial populations and live rock in aquaria over time usuing 16S rDNA. It's a good start but it is just a start.
Now for some additional links looking at microbial processes on reefs:
Indirect effects of algae on coral: algae‐mediated, microbe‐induced coral mortality
Coral seperated from algae with a .02 µm filter die. Treatment with aampicillan prevents death.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism.
Coral DOC conserves oxygen (autotrophy), algae DOC reduces oxygen (heterotrophy).
Benthic primary producers in tropical reef ecosystems can alter biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes in the surrounding seawater. In order to quantify these influences, we measured rates of photosynthesis, respiration, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exudate release by the dominant...
peerj.com
Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity
Algae releases significantly more DOC into the water than coral.
Benthic primary producers in marine ecosystems may significantly alter biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes in their surrounding environment. To examine these interactions, we studied dissolved organic matter release by dominant benthic taxa and subsequent microbial remineralization in...
journals.plos.org
Pathologies and mortality rates caused by organic carbon and nutrient stressors in three Caribbean coral species.
Starch and sugars (doc) caused coral death but not high nitrates, phosphates or ammonium.
Visualization of oxygen distribution patterns caused by coral and algae
Planar optodes were used to visualize oxygen distribution patterns associated with a coral reef associated green algae (Chaetomorpha sp.) and a hermatypic coral (Favia sp.) separately, as standalone organisms, and placed in close proximity mimicking coral-algal interactions. Oxygen patterns were...
peerj.com
Biological oxygen demand optode analysis of coral reef-associated microbial communities exposed to algal exudates
Exposure to exudates derived from turf algae stimulated higher oxygen drawdown by the coral-associated bacteria.
Algae-derived dissolved organic matter has been hypothesized to induce mortality of reef building corals. One proposed killing mechanism is a zone of hypoxia created by rapidly growing microbes. To investigate this hypothesis, biological oxygen ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs
Human pressures on coral reefs are giving macroalgae a competitive advantage over reef-building corals. These algae support larger, and potentially pathogenic, microbial populations that are metabolically primed for less-efficient, yet faster, carbohydrate remineralization, perpetuating a...
www.nature.com
Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.
Increasing algal cover on tropical reefs worldwide may be maintained through feedbacks whereby algae outcompete coral by altering microbial activity. We hypothesized that algae and coral release compositionally distinct exudates that differentially alter bacterioplankton growth and community...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution
(here's an argument for maintaining heavy fish loads if you're carbon dosing)
Labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a major pollutant in coastal marine environments affected by anthropogenic impacts, and may significantly con…
www.sciencedirect.com
Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton
Coastal pollution and algal cover are increasing on many coral reefs, resulting in higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. High DOC concentrations strongly affect microbial activity in reef waters and select for copiotrophic, often potentially virulent microbial populations. High...
www.nature.com
Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.
Recent work has shown that hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic matter (OM) from algae disrupts the function of the coral holobiont and promotes the invasion of opportunistic pathogens, leading to coral morbidity and mortality. Here we refer to these dynamics as the (3)DAM [dissolved organic...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Allelochemicals Produced by Brown Macroalgae of the Lobophora Genus Are Active against Coral Larvae and Associated Bacteria, Supporting Pathogenic Shifts to Vibrio Dominance.
Diverse microbial communities associate with coral tissues and mucus, providing important protective and nutritional services, but once disturbed, the microbial equilibrium may shift from a beneficial state to one that is detrimental or pathogenic. Macroalgae (e.g., seaweeds) can physically and...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Macroalgae decrease growth and alter microbial community structure of the reef-building coral, Porites astreoides.
With the continued and unprecedented decline of coral reefs worldwide, evaluating the factors that contribute to coral demise is of critical importance. As coral cover declines, macroalgae are becoming more common on tropical reefs. Interactions between these macroalgae and corals may alter the...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Macroalgal extracts induce bacterial assemblage shifts and sublethal tissue stress in Caribbean corals.
Benthic macroalgae can be abundant on present-day coral reefs, especially where rates of herbivory are low and/or dissolved nutrients are high. This study investigated the impact of macroalgal extracts on both coral-associated bacterial assemblages and sublethal stress response of corals. Crude...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Biophysical and physiological processes causing oxygen loss from coral reefs.
Global microbialization of coral reefs
DDAM Proven
Analysis of 60 sites in three ocean basins suggests that overgrowth of fleshy algae on coral reefs supports higher microbial abundances dominated by copiotrophic, potentially pathogenic bacteria via the provision of dissolved inorganic carbon.
www.nature.com
Because sponges are essential players in the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycle(s) on reefs here's some links to research done with them.
Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponges. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)
Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle
Marine sponges are ubiquitous colonizers of shallow, clear-water environments in the oceans (1, 2). Sponges have emerged as significant mediators of biogeochemical fluxes in coastal zones by virtue of respiring organic matter and facilitating both the consumption and release of nutrients (3, 4)...
www.pnas.org
Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges
(Chris Kenndall had a problem with low PO4 and had problems raising it with Neophos. Samples sent off showed phosphorus crystals developing in some of the sponges in his system accounting for at least some of his systems consumption.)
Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that raise a conundrum called “Darwin’s paradox”: How can high production flourish in low-nutrient conditions? We show here that in three abundant Caribbean sponges, the granules that have been commonly observed in sponge tissue for decades are...
www.pnas.org
Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.
PDF | On Jun 23, 2015, Jasper M de Goeij and others published 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
www.researchgate.net
Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)
Coral-excavating sponges are the most important bioeroders on Caribbean reefs and increase in abundance throughout the region. This increase is commonly attributed to a concomitant increase in food availability due to eutrophication and pollution. ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.
Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.
search.proquest.com
And since we're discussing favorable and not so favorable bacteria here's a paper looking at how different corals and polyps are influencing the bacteria in the water column.
Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms
As coral reef habitats decline worldwide, some reefs are transitioning from coral- to algal-dominated benthos with the exact cause for this shift remaining elusive. Increases in the abundance of microbes in the water column has been correlated with an increase in coral disease and reduction in...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
It seems pretty obvious to me our systems are far more complex than we may have imagined. They're certainly far more complex than I imagined at the beginning of the century or even than when I read Rower's book years ago. Maybe someday we'll have the understanding to artificially culture EVERYTHING in closed tanks but we still don't even know much of what's going on. BAs I see it, the best way to help get the proper microbial processes started is with with wild or maricultured live rock that has many of the organisms that are useful in moderating these processes and cannot be cultured.
