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The reproductive biology and early life ecology of a common Caribbean brain coral, Diploria labyrinthiformis (Scleractinia: Faviinae)

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Abstract

Despite the fact that most of the severe demographic bottlenecks in coral populations occur during their earliest life stages, information on the reproductive biology and early life history traits of many coral species is limited and often inferred from adult traits only. This study reports on several atypical aspects of the reproductive biology and early life ecology of the grooved brain coral, Diploria labyrinthiformis (Linnaeus, 1758), a conspicuous reef-building species on Caribbean reefs. The timing of gamete release of D. labyrinthiformis was monitored in Curaçao over eight consecutive months, and embryogenesis, planulae behavior, and settlement rates were observed and quantified. We further studied growth and symbiont acquisition in juvenile D. labyrinthiformis for 3.5 yr and compared settler survival under ambient and nutrient-enriched conditions in situ. Notably, D. labyrinthiformis reproduced during daylight hours in six consecutive monthly spawning events between May and September 2013, with a peak in June. This is the largest number of reproductive events per year ever observed in a broadcast-spawning Caribbean coral species. In settlement experiments, D. labyrinthiformis planulae swam to the bottom of culture containers 13 h after spawning and rapidly settled when provided with settlement cues (42% within 14 h). After 5 months, the survival and growth rates of settled juveniles were 3.7 and 1.9 times higher, respectively, for settlers that acquired zooxanthellae within 1 month after settlement, compared to those that acquired symbionts later on. Nutrient enrichment increased settler survival fourfold, but only for settlers that had acquired symbionts within 1 month after settlement. With at least six reproductive events per year, a short planktonic larval phase, high settlement rates, and a positive response to nutrient enrichment, the broadcast-spawning species D. labyrinthiformis displays a range of reproductive and early life-history traits that are more often associated with brooding coral species, illustrating that classical divisions of coral species by reproductive mode alone do not always reflect the true biology and ecology of their earliest life stages.

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Acknowledgments

This research received funding and/or support from the CARMABI Foundation, SECORE International, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, the University of Amsterdam, the Curaçao Sea Aquarium, the Fonds de Recherche du Québec- Nature et Technologies, and the U.S. National Science Foundation (IOS-1146880, OCE-1323820). We are thankful to our generous volunteers who spent a cumulative total of 7976 min of their precious time underwater to document the spawning timing of D. labyrinthiformis. VF Chamberland also thanks MT Chamberland for her help tagging and mapping colonies. We thank MW Miller and one anonymous reviewer for providing us with insightful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. Lastly, we are grateful to S Rosalia for our everlasting memories of her contagious laugh at the CARMABI Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CARMABI Foundation, P.O. Box 2090, Piscaderabaai z/n, Willemstad, Curaçao

    Valérie F. Chamberland & Mark J. A. Vermeij

  2. Aquatic Microbiology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 700, 1098 XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Valérie F. Chamberland & Mark J. A. Vermeij

  3. SECORE International, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, 9990 Riverside Drive, Powell, OH, 43065, USA

    Valérie F. Chamberland, Skylar Snowden & Dirk Petersen

  4. Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, One Wild Place, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, USA

    Skylar Snowden

  5. University of California at Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, CA, 95340, USA

    Kristen L. Marhaver

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  1. Valérie F. Chamberland
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  2. Skylar Snowden
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  5. Mark J. A. Vermeij
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Correspondence to Valérie F. Chamberland.

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Communicated by Ecology Editor Dr. Alastair Harbourne

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Chamberland, V.F., Snowden, S., Marhaver, K.L. et al. The reproductive biology and early life ecology of a common Caribbean brain coral, Diploria labyrinthiformis (Scleractinia: Faviinae). Coral Reefs 36, 83–94 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-016-1504-2

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