Coral reproduction on the world's southernmost reef at Lord Howe Island, Australia
Baird, Andrew H., Cumbo, Vivian R., Gudge, Sallyann, Keith, Sally A., Maynard, Jeffrey A., Tan, Chun-Hong, and Woolsey, Erika S. (2015) Coral reproduction on the world's southernmost reef at Lord Howe Island, Australia. Aquatic Biology, 23 (3). pp. 275-284.
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Abstract
Despite a recent expansion in the geographic extent of coral reproductive research, there remain many regions in the Indo-Pacific where knowledge is limited. For example, Lord Howe Island is the southernmost reef system in the world (31 degrees S); however, very little is known of the reproductive biology of the coral fauna. Here, aspects of the reproductive biology and the timing of reproduction for 40 of the approximately 65 species that occur on Lord Howe Island are documented. In December 2010, field assessments of the stage of gamete maturity in Acropora spp. colonies suggested that 5 species spawned in December 2010 and 11 in January 2011. In January 2012, similar sampling suggested that 12 Acropora species spawned in January and 1 in February. In addition, 11 species from 10 genera broadcast spawned gametes from 17:30 to 24:00 h in January 2012, 10 to 12 d after full moon. Goniastrea favulus was inferred to spawn prior to 17:00 h, 6 to 12 d after full moon and Porites heronensis released brooded larvae. The reproductive biology of 3 other brooding species was examined using dissections and histology monthly for 1 yr from April 2011. Of these, Seriatopora hystrix contained planulae between November 2011 and March 2012, Stylophora pistillata contained planulae between November 2011 and February 2012. No eggs or planulae were ob served in Pocillopora damicornis. In conclusion, the spawning patterns on Lord Howe Island are consistent with other locations in the Indo-Pacific: multi-species synchronous spawning episodes occur after full moons, when water temperatures are relatively high.
| Item ID: | 41834 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1864-7790 |
| Keywords: | coral reefs, larval ecology, spawning timing, egg size |
| Additional Information: | © The authors 2015. Open Access under Creative Commons by Attribution Licence. Use, distribution and reproduction are un-restricted. Authors and original publication must be credited. |
| Funders: | Australian Research Council |
| Date Deposited: | 08 Dec 2015 18:27 |
| FoR Codes: | 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 100% |
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