Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Multispecific coral spawning events and extended breeding periods on an equatorial reef

  • Report
  • Published:
Coral Reefs Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Scleractinian corals often reproduce in synchronized spawning events to maximize gamete fertilization and coral larval production. The extent of spawning synchrony and its timing vary among coral taxa and among biogeographic regions. Information is, however, limited, especially for equatorial reefs, hindering the identification of environmental cues that influence gametogenic cycles and spawning. To investigate the timing of gamete maturation and spawning in Palau and their association with environmental cues, we monitored tagged colonies from 11 common coral species within three families over 21 months. We then combined our findings with previous available information to more broadly summarize the known coral spawning patterns in Palau. In combination with previous observations, our data confirmed the occurrence of an extended coral spawning season in Palau, spreading over 9 months. Some coral taxa participated in synchronous multispecific spawning events, with the largest occurring throughout April and May. Other coral taxa, including Montipora corals, displayed inter- and intra-specific spawning asynchrony. Consequently, environmental cues associated with spawning patterns differed among species. The largest Acropora spawning event of the year (March–April) was associated with the lowest yearly high tides and a monthly mean sea surface temperature around 29 °C. Massive Porites spawned predominantly in April and May, associated with increased monthly levels of solar insolation. Porites rus spawned in June–August and was associated with longest monthly day length. Our study demonstrates that Palauan coral assemblages have complex patterns of multispecific spawning events throughout most of the year, which may have important implications for larval dispersal, supply and recruitment patterns, influencing the resilience of coral reefs in this region.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Babcock RC, Bull GD, Harrison PL, Heyward AJ, Oliver JK, Wallace CC, Willis BL (1986) Synchronous spawnings of 105 scleractinian coral species on the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology 90:379–394

    Google Scholar 

  • Babcock RC, Wills BL, Simpson CJ (1994) Mass spawning of corals on a high latitude coral reef. Coral Reefs 13:161–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird AH, Guest JR, Willis BL (2009) Systematic and Biogeographical Patterns in the Reproductive Biology of Scleractinian Corals. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 40:551–571

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird AH, Marshall PA, Wolstenholme J (2002) Latitudinal variation in the reproduction of Acropora in the Coral Sea. 1:385–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Bates D, Maechler M, Bolker B, Walker S, others (2014) lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using Eigen and S4

  • Boch CA, Ananthasubramaniam B, Sweeney AM, Doyle Iii FJ, Morse DE (2011) Effects of light dynamics on coral spawning synchrony. The Biological Bulletin 220:161–173

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borchert R, Renner SS, Calle Z, Navarrete D, Tye A, Gautier L, Spichiger R, von Hildebrand P (2005) Photoperiodic induction of synchronous flowering near the Equator. Nature 433:627–629

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bouwmeester J, Khalil MT, De la Torre P, Berumen ML (2011) Synchronous spawning of Acropora in the Red Sea. Coral Reefs 30:1011

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronstein O, Loya Y (2011) Daytime spawning of Porites rus on the coral reefs of Chumbe Island in Zanzibar, Western Indian Ocean (WIO). Coral Reefs 30:441

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldwell P, Merrifield M, Thompson P (2015) Sea level measured by tide gauges from global oceans—the Joint Archive for Sea Level holdings (NCEI Accession 0019568). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

  • Carroll A, Harrison P, Adjeroud M (2006) Sexual reproduction of Acropora reef corals at Moorea, French Polynesia. Coral Reefs 25:93–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Craggs J, Guest JR, Davis M, Simmons J, Dashti E, Sweet M (2017) Inducing broadcast coral spawning ex situ: Closed system mesocosm design and husbandry protocol. Ecol Evol 7:11066–11078

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Doropoulos C, Roff G, Zupan M, Nestor V, Isechal AL, Mumby PJ (2014) Reef-scale failure of coral settlement following typhoon disturbance and macroalgal bloom in Palau, Western Pacific. Coral Reefs 33:613–623

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards A, Guest J, Heyward A, Villanueva R, Baria M, Bollozos I, Golbuu Y (2015) Direct seeding of mass-cultured coral larvae is not an effective option for reef rehabilitation. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 525:105–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Giese A, Pearse J (1974) Introduction: general principles. Reproduction of marine invertebrates, Vol 1. Academic, New York, pp 1–49

  • Gilmour J, Speed CW, Babcock R (2016) Coral reproduction in Western Australia. PeerJ 4:e2010

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gouezo M, Golbuu Y, Fabricius K, Olsudong D, Mereb G, Nestor V, Wolanski E, Harrison P, Doropoulos C (2019) Drivers of recovery and reassembly of coral reef communities. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286:10

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham EM, Baird AH, Connolly SR (2008) Survival dynamics of scleractinian coral larvae and implications for dispersal. Coral Reefs 27:529–539

    Google Scholar 

  • Guest J, Baird A, Goh B, Chou L (2002) Multispecific, synchronous coral spawning in Singapore. Coral Reefs 21:422–423

    Google Scholar 

  • Guest JR, Baird AH, Goh BPL, Chou LM (2005a) Seasonal reproduction in equatorial reef corals. Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 48:207–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Guest JR, Baird AH, Goh BPL, Chou LM (2005b) Reproductive seasonality in an equatorial assemblage of scleractinian corals. Coral Reefs 24:112–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison PL (2011) Sexual reproduction of scleractinian corals. Coral reefs: an ecosystem in transition. Springer, pp 59–85

  • Harrison PL, Babcock RC, Bull GD, Oliver JK, Wallace CC, Willis BL (1984) Mass spawning in tropical reef corals. Science 223:1186–1189

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison PL, Wallace CC (1990) Reproduction, dispersal and recruitment of scleractinian corals. Ecosystems of the world 25:133–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayashibara T, Shimoike K, Kimura T, Hosaka S, Heyward A, Harrison P, Kudo K, Omori M (1993) Patterns of coral spawning at Akajima Island, Okinawa, Japan. Marine Ecology Progress Series 101:253–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoadley KD, Vize PD, Pyott SJ (2016) Current understanding of the circadian clock within cnidaria. The Cnidaria, Past, Present and Future. Springer, pp 511–520

  • Howells EJ, Abrego D, Vaughan GO, Burt JA (2014) Coral spawning in the Gulf of Oman and relationship to latitudinal variation in spawning season in the northwest Indian Ocean. Scientific Reports 4:7484

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jones GP, Almany GR, Russ GR, Sale PF, Steneck RS, van Oppen MJH, Willis BL (2009) Larval retention and connectivity among populations of corals and reef fishes: history, advances and challenges. Coral Reefs 28:307–325

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaniewska P, Alon S, Karako-Lampert S, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Levy O (2015) Signaling cascades and the importance of moonlight in coral broadcast mass spawning. Elife 4:e09991

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Keith SA, Maynard JA, Edwards AJ, Guest JR, Bauman AG, van Hooidonk R, Heron SF, Berumen ML, Bouwmeester J, Piromvaragorn S, Rahbek C, Baird AH (2016) Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283:20160011

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kenyon JC (1995) Latitudinal Differences between Palau and Yap in Coral Reproductive. Pacific Science 49:156–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Kojis BL, Quinn NJ (1981) Aspects of sexual reproduction and larval development in the shallow water hermatypic coral, Goniastrea australensis (Edwards and Haime, 1857). Bulletin of Marine Science 31:558–573

    Google Scholar 

  • Kojis BL (1986) Sexual reproduction in Acropora (Isopora)(Coelenterata: Scleractinia). Marine Biology 91:311–318

    Google Scholar 

  • Korczynski PC, Logan J, Faust JE (2002) Mapping monthly distribution of daily light integrals across the contiguous United States. HortTechnology 12:12–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenth R, Lenth MR (2018) Package ‘lsmeans.’

  • Levitan DR, Fogarty ND, Jara J, Lotterhos KE, Knowlton N (2011) Genetic, spatial, and temporal components of precise spawning synchrony in reef building corals of the Montastraea annularis species complex. Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution 65:1254–1270

  • Levy O, Appelbaum L, Leggat W, Gothlif Y, Hayward DC, Miller DJ, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2007) Light-responsive cryptochromes from a simple multicellular animal, the coral Acropora millepora. Science 318:467–470

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maboloc EA, Jamodiong EA, Villanueva RD (2016) Reproductive biology and larval development of the scleractinian corals Favites colemani and F. abdita (Faviidae) in northwestern Philippines. Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 60:1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangubhai S, Harrison P (2008a) Asynchronous coral spawning patterns on equatorial reefs in Kenya. Marine Ecology Progress Series 360:85–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangubhai S, Harrison PL (2006) Seasonal patterns of coral reproduction on equatorial reefs in Mombasa. Kenya. 1:106–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangubhai S, Harrison PL (2008b) Gametogenesis, spawning and fecundity of Platygyra daedalea (Scleractinia) on equatorial reefs in Kenya. Coral Reefs 27:117–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendes JM, Woodley JD (2002) Timing of reproduction in Montastraea annularis: relationship to environmental variables. Marine Ecology Progress Series 227:241–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Neves EG (2000) Histological Analysis of Reproductive Trends of Three Porites Species from Kane’ohe Bay. Hawai’i. Pacific Science 54:6

    Google Scholar 

  • Nozawa Y (2012) Annual variation in the timing of coral spawning in a high-latitude environment: influence of temperature. Biol Bull 222:192–202

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oliver JK, Babcock RC, Harrison PL, Willis BL (1988) Geographic extent of mass coral spawning: clues to ultimate causal factors. 2:803–810

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver JK, Willis BL (1987) Coral-spawn slicks in the Great Barrier Reef: preliminary observations. Marine Biology 94:521–529

    Google Scholar 

  • Orton JH (1920) Sea-temperature, breeding and distribution in marine animals. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 12:339–366

    Google Scholar 

  • Penland L, Kloulechad J, Idip D, van Woesik R (2004) Coral spawning in the western Pacific Ocean is related to solar insolation: evidence of multiple spawning events in Palau. Coral Reefs 23:133–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Randall C, Negri A, Quigley K, Foster T, Ricardo G, Webster N, Bay L, Harrison P, Babcock R, Heyward A (2020) Sexual production of corals for reef restoration in the Anthropocene. Marine Ecology Progress Series 635:203–232

    Google Scholar 

  • Development Core Team R (2019) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Austria, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Richmond RH, Hunter CL (1990) Reproduction and recruitment of corals: comparisons among the Caribbean, the Tropical Pacific, and the Red Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 60:185–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosser NL, Gilmour JP (2008) New insights into patterns of coral spawning on Western Australian reefs. Coral Reefs 27:345–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Shlesinger Y, Loya Y (1985) Coral community reproductive patterns: red sea versus the great barrier reef. Science 228:1333–1335

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shlesinger T, Loya Y (2019) Breakdown in spawning synchrony: A silent threat to coral persistence. Science 365:1002–1007

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sola E, Marques da Silva I, Glassom D (2016) Reproductive synchrony in a diverse Acropora assemblage, Vamizi Island, Mozambique. Marine ecology 37:1373–1385

    Google Scholar 

  • Soong K, Lang JC (1992) Reproductive integration in reef corals. The Biological Bulletin 183:418–431

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stobart B, Babcock RC, Willis BL (1992) Biannual spawning of three species of scleractinian coral from the Great Barrier Reef. Proc 7th Int Coral Reef Symp 1:494–499

  • Stoddart CW, Stoddart JA, Blakeway DR (2012) Summer spawning of Porites lutea from north-western Australia. Coral Reefs 31:787–792

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney AM, Boch CA, Johnsen S, Morse DE (2011) Twilight spectral dynamics and the coral reef invertebrate spawning response. Journal of Experimental Biology 214:770–777

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Woesik R (2009) Calm before the spawn: global coral spawning patterns are explained by regional wind fields. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences rspb20091524

  • van Woesik R, Lacharmoise F, Köksal S (2006) Annual cycles of solar insolation predict spawning times of Caribbean corals. Ecology letters 9:390–398

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Veron JEN (1995) Corals in space and time: the biogeography and evolution of the Scleractinia. Cornell University Press

  • Vize PD (2006) Deepwater broadcast spawning by Montastraea cavernosa, Montastraea franksi, and Diploria strigosa at the Flower Garden Banks, Gulf of Mexico. Coral Reefs 25:169–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace CC (1985) Reproduction, recruitment and fragmentation in nine sympatric species of the coral genus Acropora. Marine Biology 88:217–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallace CC (1999) Staghorn corals of the world: a revision of the coral genus Acropora (Scleractinia; Astrocoeniina; Acroporidae) worldwide, with emphasis on morphology, phylogeny and biogeography. CSIRO publishing

  • Wijayanti DP, Indrayanti E, Wirasatriya A, Haryanti D, Bhagooli R (2019) Reproductive seasonality of coral assemblages in the Karimunjawa Archipelago. Indonesia. Frontiers in Marine Science 6:195

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis BL, Babcock RC, Harrison PL, Oliver JK, Wallace CC (1985) Patterns in the mass spawning of corals on the Great Barrier Reef from 1981 to 1984. Proceedings of the Fifth International Coral Reef Congress 343–348

  • Wolanski E (1983) Tides on the northern Great Barrier Reef continental shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 88:5953–5959

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolstenholme J, Nozawa Y, Byrne M, Burke W (2018) Timing of mass spawning in corals: potential influence of the coincidence of lunar factors and associated changes in atmospheric pressure from northern and southern hemisphere case studies. Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 62:98–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolstenholme JK (2004) Temporal reproductive isolation and gametic compatibility are evolutionary mechanisms in the Acropora humilis species group (Cnidaria; Scleractinia). Marine Biology 144:567–582

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood S, Scheipl F (2013) gamm4: Generalized additive mixed models using mgcv and lme4. R package version 0.2-2

  • Wuitchik DM, Wang D, Pells TJ, Karimi K, Ward S, Vize PD (2019) Seasonal temperature, the lunar cycle and diurnal rhythms interact in a combinatorial manner to modulate genomic responses to the environment in a reef-building coral. Molecular ecology

  • Zuur AF, Hilbe J, Ieno EN (2013) A Beginner’s Guide to GLM and GLMM with R: A Frequentist and Bayesian Perspective for Ecologists. Highland Statistics Limited, Scotland

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Robert van Woesik for help with species identification of some tagged coral colonies; and Nicolas Evensen (University of Queensland), Paul Collins (Unique Dive Expeditions), and Carrie Sims (University of Queensland) for sharing some of their personal observations on coral spawning timing. Special thanks go to Geory Mereb and PICRC interns for field assistance as well as Chuki Hongo and JICA/SATREPS support through the collaborative project of P-CORIE. We are grateful for the comments of three anonymous reviewers that improved the manuscript. This work was supported by the Coral Reef initiative grant (US Department of Interior) Office of Insular Affairs, Grant No. D15AP00129., the Palau International Coral Reef Center and Southern Cross University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Palau International Coral Reef Center, PO Box 7086, Koror, Palau

    Marine Gouezo, Dawnette Olsudong, Victor Nestor & Yimnang Golbuu

  2. Marine Ecology Research Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia

    Marine Gouezo & Peter Harrison

  3. CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, St Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia

    Christopher Doropoulos

  4. Biology Department, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyu, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa Prefecture, 903-0213, Japan

    Haruko Kurihara

  5. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB 3, Townsville, Q4810, Australia

    Katharina Fabricius

Authors
  1. Marine Gouezo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher Doropoulos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Katharina Fabricius
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dawnette Olsudong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Victor Nestor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Haruko Kurihara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yimnang Golbuu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Peter Harrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marine Gouezo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Topic editor Anastazia Banaszak

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 469 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (XLSX 23 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gouezo, M., Doropoulos, C., Fabricius, K. et al. Multispecific coral spawning events and extended breeding periods on an equatorial reef. Coral Reefs 39, 1107–1123 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-020-01941-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-020-01941-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation