Usage of UV-curable oligomer-based adhesive agent in hermatypic coral experimental research

The global decline of the tropical and subtropical coral reefs requires urgent completion of various experiments that will reveal the factors influencing coral health. We describe the procedure of a new inexpensive, easy, and fast method for attaching fragments of the hermatypic coral Acropora spp. to small polycarbonate hexagon head bolts using Bondic®, an ultraviolet (UV)-curable oligomer-based adhesive agent made by Laser Bonding Tech, Inc. (Aurora, ON, Canada). The attachment was hardened within 10 s after applying the adhesive to the cut surface of the coral fragment. The corals attached to polycarbonate bolt were tolerant to long-distance aerial transport 3 days after the attachment. In addition to its implementation in various experiments using hermatypic corals, this method will contribute to aquaculture of hermatypic corals, exhibition of corals in aquariums, and coral reef restoration. The advantages of this new method are summarized below: • A new UV-curable oligomer-based adhesive agent is used as an artificial substrate for coral. • This method is inexpensive, easy to use, and coral attaches quickly to the artificial substrate. • Corals attached to the artificial substrate can withstand long periods of transportation.