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Posts Tagged ‘Coral Morphologic’

‘Natural History Redux’ (Trailer)

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

Coral Morphologic is proud to announce the digital release of the remixed and remastered Natural History Redux this Thursday, March 6, 2014. NHR compiles our original 23 ‘Natural History’ videos (that were previous only available online individually in 720p) into a digital 1080p collector’s edition.

‘Miami Coral Rescue’ Talk @ University of Miami

Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

Seen above is a fluorescence photograph of an ultra rare hybrid staghorn coral (Acropora prolifera) living in Miami’s Government Cut waterway. Colin first introduced this coral to the world at TEDxMIA in 2011. Now the Army Corps of Engineers’ “Deep Dredge” project to expand Miami’s port capabilities will necessitate the evacuation of this and thousands of other corals before their habitat is dynamited. It is Coral Morphologic’s mission to rescue them. Find out more 7:30pm Tuesday January 21st 2014 at the University of Miami Cox Science Building Room 145.

Adult Swim – Off The Air – ‘Nature’

Sunday, January 19th, 2014

We are psyched to share that our short film Fungia Food was included in the ‘Nature’ episode of Adult Swim‘s show Off The Air. Check out the episode above.

‘The Psychedelic World of Coral Morphologic’ @ Pratt Institute

Monday, November 11th, 2013

This Friday, November 15th at 7pm, we are enthusiastic to present ‘The Psychedelic World of Coral Morphologic’ at the Pratt Institute in New York City. The event features a Q + A on the Coral Morphologic ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as the screening of short films, including the debut of our first Google Glass-made fluorescent evening-tour of the Coral Morphologic Laboratory. ‘The Psychedelic World of Coral Morphologic’ is free and open to the public.

‘Spectre In Wire’ – DIM PAST

Saturday, September 14th, 2013

We are psyched to debut the Coral Morphologic + Dylan Romer-directed video for Dim Past‘s ‘Spectre In Wire’, an aquatic cut off the Black Dolphin EP. Utilizing Google Glass and GoPro devices, we take a trip down the Miami River, through Government Cut, and out to the sea, our destination. There we dive in and illuminate the Corals of Miami, keepers of a magical yet ephemeral realm. Dylan Romer’s reality-augmenting ‘Time Piles’ application treats the exploration, holding the experience together like a glue until we resurface.

The video originally premiered at the Collabo Show via our projection-sculpture ‘Version Key #2’, and online via Dazed Digital.

University of Miami Magazine

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

We are honored to be featured in the most recent issue of the UM Magazine and have one of our photos featuring a menagerie of our colorful Ricordea florida color morphs grace the cover. The article highlights the contributions of University of Miami alumni (’04) and Coral Morphologic co-founder Colin Foord to the body of science and public understanding of coral reef organisms through site-specific and multi-media artworks. The aquacultural legacy continues with our mentorship of University of Miami marine science students who get hands on experience growing corals within our Overtown laboratory.

MIA X Coral Morphologic Limited Edition Skate Deck Series

Friday, May 24th, 2013

We are psyched to announce the release of a series of skateboard decks in collaboration with MIA Skate Shop featuring the photography of three different fluorescent corals that call Miami their home. The collaboration is a logical extension of our view of Miami as the Coral City. A city whose cement buildings are metaphorical monuments to the fossilized remains of an ancient coral reef that once ran through it. Skaters will now be able to skate through a city of coral (recycled as concrete) on boards that reflect its bio-geologic past, present, and future. Miami, a city where vertebrate and invertebrate life-forms are forever bonded through calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate skeletons that were once enveloped with fluorescent coral tissue now form the foundation for a neon metropolis that mirrors its coral reefs. A metropolis with an Atlantean destiny, where corals will one day recolonize the streets and buildings as their own.

The limited edition decks (3 color-ways, hand numbered editions of 50) will be available starting Saturday, May 25 at the release party, and at both MIA shops in Miami Beach and Sunny Isles, Florida.

‘Tombstone’ @ Swampspace

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Tombstone (close up).

From April 13 – May 4 we will have Tombstone, our new installation, on exhibition at Swampspace in the Design District of Miami. The piece consists of a projection of Colpophyllia natans thrown onto a keystone screen of its own fossilized ancestors, set upon concrete blocks, they themselves comprised of calcium derived from ancient Floridian reefs.

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‘Into The Cosmic Flower Garden’ & ‘Painlevé Remixed’

Thursday, January 3rd, 2013

At last month’s screening of the FUTUREHISTORY program, we debuted Into the Cosmic Flower Garden, a triumphant ode to the sex cycle of the Phymanthus crucifer sea anemone, as well as a remixed compilation of Jean Painlevé’s seminal aquarium-based films. Enjoy!

FUTUREHISTORY

Sunday, December 9th, 2012

Join us this Thursday, December 13th for a night of underwater films at the New World Center’s SoundScape Park on Miami Beach. At 7,00 Square-feet, the NWS WallCast is the largest projection wall in North America, and is accompanied by a state-of-the-art immersive sound system. This night will feature the first-ever screening of our ‘Natural History’ series from 2009-2011 in its entirety, followed by the world premiere of a new film, Into the Cosmic Flower Garden. The event is outdoors and tickets are free – bring your sensory perceptions, and enjoy the experience.

‘Species Diversity of Shallow Water Zoanthids (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) in Florida’

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Four Floridian zoanthids analyzed in our study. Clockwise from Top Left: 1) Undescribed Zoanthus aff. pulchellus 2) Undescribed Palythoa aff. variabilis 3) Zoanthus solanderi 4) Undescribed Terrazoanthus sp.

Recently, we spearheaded a study of the Zoanthids found in our local nearshore waters that has been published in the Journal of Marine Sciences titled ‘Species Diversity of Shallow Water Zoanthids (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) in Florida‘ with Dr. James Reimer and Yuka Irei of the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan. This is the first comprehensive study of its kind, analyzing DNA to determine the taxonomic authenticity of our local zoanthid species. We discovered that there are as many as four species of zoanthids in South Florida that have been overlooked by scientists until now.

Despite their ubiquitousness in shallow tropical waters, zoanthids have been largely neglected by marine biologists who have otherwise been more focused on understanding reef-building stony corals, leaving the taxonomy of tropical zoanthids vague and out of date. This, combined with the natural morphologic variability of these animals, makes physical identification difficult for the casual observer. The advent of DNA analysis has allowed for an accurate picture to emerge, and it is clear that there is much more diversity than had previously been recorded.

Read ‘Species Diversity of Shallow Water Zoanthids (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) in Florida‘:

Colins-Zoanthid-Paper-2012

‘Aquacultural Transformation’

Monday, August 13th, 2012

‘Aquacultural Transformation’ Installation No. 1 at the Southeast Financial Center lobby, downtown Miami.

In the first installment of our Knight Foundation-funded public art series Aquacultural Transformation, we have been commissioned by the owners of the Southeast Financial Center in downtown Miami to curate the new HD video-wall in the lobby. The video-wall is comprised of twenty-five 55″ screens, measuring 23′ x 14′ in total size, making it one of the largest HD walls in Florida. We have produced a series of coral films for Aquacultural Transformation that will run during the morning hours of 7-10 a.m for the next six months. Our goal was to create a technicolor, aquatic ambiance in the lobby that engages and relaxes workers before the start of a hectic work day – therefore acting as an antidote against the 24-hour barrage of news and financial information that these workers are constantly subjected to. A primary component of the Aquaculture Transformation project is to convey that that the essence of the coral reef is literally infused into the concrete limestone infrastructure of every building in the Magic City. And thus the modern pop-cultural iconography of Miami is ultimately reflective of the neon diversity of our native coral reefs. This can be represented no better than the opening sequence to ‘Miami Vice’, in which the Southeast Financial Center is featured prominently in the last shot.

‘Anemone Spawn’

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

A fluorescent green flower anemone (Epicystis crucifer) releases sperm into the water column at the Coral Morphologic lab.

On May 24th we observed this fluorescent green flower anemone (Epicystis crucifer) spawning in our lab, and managed to film the event. The anemone continued to release sperm for nearly 30 minutes, while several other nearby flower anemones released significantly smaller amounts of gametes. This was the second time we have witnessed a flower anemone spawning event at our lab this spring. We first observed a synchronous spawn of more than a dozen anemones in an outdoor aquaculture system that receives natural sunlight on April 12th. After the jump are photos of anemones spawning during this event.

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‘Coral: Rekindling Venus’

Sunday, May 13th, 2012

We are excited to share that Coral Morphologic has contributed film and images to Coral: Rekindling Venus, a full-dome digital planetarium motion picture directed by artist Lynette Wallworth. Coral: Rekindling Venus explores the magnificence of the coral reef and its organisms in a high definition, 360 degree view with a score including Antony Hegarty and Christian Fennesz. The film premieres in twenty-four (24) planetariums around the world on June 5th, which coincides with the Transit of Venus. The movie’s title equates the significance of coral reefs in the 21st century to this historic astronomical event.

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Ocean Drive Magazine

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Coral Morphologic is featured in the February 2012 edition of Ocean Drive Magazine.

Interview @ the Coral Morphologic Lab

Saturday, January 21st, 2012

During the week of Art Basel-Miami Beach 2011, we opened the doors of our aquaculture lab and welcomed guests to see our work and inspirations up close and personal. Jeff Jetton and Brendan Canty (of the band Fugazi) were two of our guests from Washington, DC, and we were psyched to give them a detailed look at our lab, our ethos, and how we managed to develop a DIY hybrid science-art concept into reality.

Miami New Times’ 2011 People Issue

Friday, November 25th, 2011

Catch us in the Miami New Times’ 2011 People Issue. Pick up a print edition on November 23rd.

TEDxMIA

Monday, August 15th, 2011

We are thrilled to share that Colin will be counted as a speaker at the TEDxMIA 2011 annual conference Between The Lines, September 13th at the New World Center on Miami Beach. He will expound the adaptational prowess of an extremely rare “hybrid” Caribbean stony coral (Acropora prolifera) he discovered while exploring the waters of Biscayne Bay and Government Cut. Click here to read an interview with Colin on the meaning of this find and what it predicts for the future of Florida’s coral reefs.

Adult Swim – Off The Air – ‘Food’

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

This past week our short film ‘Oyster Vision’ was included in the second episode of Adult Swim‘s new ten-minute mind-boggle of a show, Off the Air. The episode is titled ‘Food’, check it out above.

Coral Morphologic @ ATP Curated by Animal Collective

Monday, May 9th, 2011

We are psyched to share that a selection of our Natural History films will screen on ATP TV during this upcoming weekend’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival as curated by Animal Collective, in Minehead, UK. This will be the first international exhibition of our work; read more about the festival here.

‘Man O War’

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

‘Man O War’
Physalia physalis
Film and Aquarium: Coral Morphologic
Original Soundtrack: Geologist

In this special installment of our Natural History film series, Geologist soundtracks a macroscopic view of a Portuguese man-o-war’s beautiful, yet highly venomous tentacles.

The man-o-war is often mistaken as a jellyfish, but this is not the case. It does not swim, but is instead propelled by the winds, tides and currents across the ocean’s surface. In fact, a man-o-war is not even a single organism, but an entire colony of organisms called siphonophores, that live together as a singular unit. They are found floating across all of the world’s tropical and subtropical oceans. Even more impressive is that the man-o-war colony is comprised of four different types of polyps, called zooids, that each serve a different purpose to the overall functioning of the colony.

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‘Artificial Reef’ Retrospective

Monday, December 13th, 2010

‘Cassiopeia 2’ | 407 Building | Lincoln Road | Miami Beach – Dec. 2-5, 2010

From December 2-5, we presented Artificial Reef, a series of large-scale video projections of corals, on three prominent buildings on Miami Beach. The concept of Artificial Reef was built around the premise that most of Miami’s infrastructure is comprised of fossilized coral reef limestone. The purpose of the project, (funded with a generous grant from the Knight Foundation) was to highlight this overlooked relationship of the city of Miami with its coral reefs. Our goal was to recolonize the city with a ‘living veneer’ of corals encrusted onto the artificial reef that is Miami Beach.

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‘Artificial Reef’

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

We are infinitely excited to announce our first public art project: Artificial Reef, a nightly projection series showcasing local coral reef-life in massive scale on prominent buildings across Miami Beach from December second to the fifth. The concrete used in constructing these buildings is largely composed of the pulverized fossils of coral and marine life that once colonized South Florida when submerged in millennia past. The Artificial Reef projections will “encrust” and “colonize” the Wolfsonian Museum, the 407 Building, and the Art Deco Welcome Center facades like rocks of the reef. Artificial Reef has been made possible by a generous grant from the Knight Foundation.

During the week/end we will have an accompanying solo show of of our multi-media works at the Art Deco Welcome Center. Video loops, photography and projections will be shown. The opening reception for Artificial Reef will take place at the Art Deco Welcome Center on Friday, December 3rd from 8PM – 12AM. We are additionally psyched to host special live “soundscape” performances by ANR and Sumsun during the reception, with an accompanying collage of our Natural History films curated and affected by video artist Jamie Harley. The video collaboration will be projected onto the bands as they perform. We will have complimentary Prestige beer at the reception.

‘The Squat Urchin Shrimp’

Monday, June 28th, 2010

‘The Squat Urchin Shrimp’
Gnathophylloides mineri on Tripneustes ventricosus
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

The Squat Urchin Shrimp (Gnathophylloides mineri) is an amazingly successful creature that can be found living amongst the spines of sea urchins throughout most of the world’s shallow tropical waters. In the Caribbean they hitchhike exclusively upon the black and white West Indian Sea Egg (Tripneustes ventricosus), traveling along where ever its host may go. The squat urchin shrimp is very small, reaching no more than 6mm in length, and orients itself parallel with the spines making it all but invisible and protected from a would-be-predator. Often colonies of up to half a dozen squat urchin shrimp of varying sizes will all share the same urchin. Beyond its circumtropical distribution and perfect camouflage, the squat urchin shrimp further demonstrates its successfulness by feeding upon the epidermal tissue of the very spines that grant it protection. This is a relatively benign form of parasitism that doesn’t seem to bother the urchin. These shrimp will also feed opportunistically upon detritus that the urchin picks up as it moves along the sea floor. The squat urchin shrimp is a creature that has found a near perfect niche in a truly self-sustaining, self-contained world of spines.

‘The Heart Urchin Pea Crab’

Monday, June 21st, 2010

‘The Heart Urchin Pea Crab’
Dissodactylus primitivus on Meoma ventricosa
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

Barely 7mm in size, the aptly named heart urchin pea crab (Dissodactylus primitivus) lives its entire life as a passenger upon the slow-moving red heart urchin (Meoma ventricosa). It is an example of the unusual life that can be found by looking in unexpected places on Floridian coral reefs. The red heart urchin is an unusual member of the echinoderm clan (e.g. urchins, sea stars, sand dollars, sea cucumbers) that spends most of its time burrowing in the sand. It sifts through the grains of sand searching for organic detritus that constitutes its diet. Likewise, the heart urchin pea crab lives a well-protected life (usually below the sand) amongst the spines of this fist-sized urchin. While most crabs move swiftly, this pea crab moves slowly in order to navigate through the corridors of spines, even spending time inside the urchin’s mouth. It is likely that the crab feeds upon some of the food that would otherwise be consumed by the urchin. This commensal relationship appears mildly parasitic, as the urchin doesn’t seem to gain any sort of direct benefit from the crab living amongst its spines. Frequently, several heart urchin pea crabs will live communally without any noticeable negative impact to their host urchin’s health.

If you look closely, you’ll notice the rhythmic working of its gills and circulatory system within the heart urchin pea crab’s translucent, eggshell exoskeleton.

‘Cleaner Pt. 3’

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

‘Cleaner Pt. 3′
Periclimenes rathbunae on Stichodactyla helianthus
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

The sun anemone shrimp (Periclimenes rathbunae) is the least common of the three species of Floridian anemone shrimp. While the other two anemone shrimp (P. pedersoni and P. yucatanicus) act as cleaners to passing fish, the sun anemone shrimp doesn’t seem to engage in this behavior. Instead, it spends its time living almost exclusively upon its namesake sun anemone (Stichodactyla helianthus). Aquarium observations suggest that this shrimp may supplement its diet by occasionally nipping off and eating the tentacles of the anemone. This parasitism suggests a more complicated symbiotic relationship than the sort of simple mutualism that these shrimp are often categorized by.

In Floridian waters, the scarcity of this shrimp is likely related to the infrequency of its host sun anemone. However, where they are found, the sun anemone often lives in dense clonal colonies that can literally carpet shallow reefs. The tentacles, while short and stubby, are packed with powerful stinging nematocysts that act like microscopic harpoons to deliver their venom. The end result of all these nematocysts and tentacles, is an anemone that is very ‘sticky’, and capable of producing painful welts to the careless diver.

‘The Porcelain Crab’

Friday, May 28th, 2010

‘The Porcelain Crab’
Petrolisthes galathinus feeding on passing plankton
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

The porcelain crab’s common name is derived from its propensity to drop claws like a fragile tea cup breaking. When attacked, the would-be predator is usually left with nothing more than a few amputated (and still-twitching) limbs. In a few days the porcelain crab will undergo an ’emergency molt’ of its exoskeleton and begin regenerating its lost appendages.

The porcelain crab shown here, Petrolisthes galathinus, is a common resident of Floridian and Caribbean reefs, living under rubble and coral heads. Turning over loose rocks will often yield a fleeting glimpse of scurrying, purple legs. They can move incredibly fast and generally remain cryptic to the passing scuba diver. While many crab species are territorial and agressive towards members of their own species, these porcelain crabs can be colonial with several dozen porcelain crabs living together under the same rock.

Despite the similar appearances, porcelain crabs are not ‘true’ crabs; they are in fact more closely related to the squat lobster clan (Galatheidae) than the archetypal brachyuran crabs we are all familiar with. Porcelain crabs’ flattened bodies are adapted to their life under rocks and in crevices. One of the defining features of porcelain crabs are the comb-like appendages called ‘setae’ that sweep the water currents in order to collect edible particles that happen to float by. Another pair of specialized appendages scrape the the setae and bring the collected food to their mouthparts. This feeding strategy, with its alternating rhythm, appears robotic in its efficiency.

‘Transmission’

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

‘Transmission’
Pseudoceros crozieri or ‘Tiger Flatworm’
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

The tiger flatworm (Pseudoceros crozieri) is a stunning species of flatworm that can be found living on rocks and mangrove roots along the shores of the Caribbean. Colonial orange tunicates (Ecteinascidia turbinata) constitute the tiger flatworm’s only food-source. At 35mm in length, it is considerably larger than the previously featured red flatworms. As simultaneous hermaphrodites, the tiger flatworm often travels as pairs and mate regularly. Their pseudotentacle antennae help aid them in finding mates by detecting chemical cues in the water.

Locomotion in this larger flatworm species is accomplished by rippling muscle contractions along the edges of the animal, and aided by a slippery mucous slime. The video is shown in real time.

‘The Lettuce Slug’

Monday, May 10th, 2010

‘The Lettuce Slug’
Elysia crispata on Halimeda opuntia
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

Lettuce sea slugs (Elysia crispata) are a commonly found in protected nearshore Floridian waters where green macroalgae proliferates. They belong to a clan of sea slugs, the sarcoglossans, that are characterized by their ‘sap-sucking’ feeding habits of algae. These slugs slowly patrol mangrove roots and rocks searching for green algae upon which they feed. They store some of the chloroplasts from eaten algae in their tissue, giving it the green coloration. The chloroplasts continue to function, providing the slug with photosynthetic energy. The ruffles along the back of the lettuce sea slug are called parapodia, and help provide more surface area for the chloroplasts to inhabit. They also camouflage the slug amongst the leafy algae that they live amongst. It is very easy to swim past a lettuce nudibranch without ever noticing it.

The scrolled rhinophores (antennae) on the head of the lettuce sea slug help detect the chemical fingerprints of their preferred algal species. If you look carefully, just behind the rhinophores, you’ll notice the small black eye spots that act as rudimentary eyes to detect changes in light and dark.

The macroalgae featured in the film is Halimeda opuntia, (named after its resemblance to the prickly pear cactus Opuntia sp.). It is unique amongst green algae in that it produces a semi-rigid, calcareous skeleton. In fact, the dead ‘leaf’ fragments of Halimeda spp. algae are a more significant producer of coral reef sand than the corals themselves. It is not uncommon to find lettuce sea slugs on Halimeda opuntia algae, as it frequently lives amidst the softer green algae that the lettuce sea slugs prefer.

‘Flatworms’

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

‘Flatworms’
Convolutriloba retrogemma (flatworms)
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Coral Morphologic

The flatworms (Convolutriloba retrogemma) featured in the video are shown at 3x normal speed. They each range from 2-4mm in total length.

These particular flatworms harbor symbiotic zooxanthellae in their thin tissue and utilize the excess sugars they create as their primary energy source. Packets of zooxanthellae can be seen as the tiny, red-brown dots along the back of flatworm. Their reliance upon this photosynthesis requires that these flatworms bask in sunlight like little photovoltaic cells, and enables them to live without a developed digestive system.

In the wild, this species can be found in the shallow water of protected lagoons and around mangroves. Reproduction is accomplished asexually via fission, in which the flatworms literally split into two. This strategy enables exponential population growth in optimum conditions. They are the preferred prey of several species of larger flatworms and sea slugs; animals that can tolerate their toxic bodily fluids.

While it appears that the flatworms just glide along like magic carpets, they are actually propelled by invisible cilia (flapping filaments) that slide them across a thin layer of mucous laid over whatever surface they happen to be upon.

Upon close inspection of flatworm-to-flatworm interaction, it is apparent that these flatworms do not like making direct contact with each other. If they do, they react as if stung. It seems that this reaction prevents the worms from piling on top of each other in an effort to gain the best solar power. Instead, they jockey for position until they each find a place in which to ‘park’ themselves, like sunbathers on a crowded beach.