Abstract
Reproduction and early life history are central to understanding the biology and ecology of organisms, however such information is limited for solitary corals. Here, we compared the reproductive traits of the solitary coral Heliofungia actiniformis from different latitudinal locations (Singapore, 1°N and the Philippines, 16°N) and examined their early life development, settlement competency, and juvenile growth and survival. A total of 32 corals from Pulau Hantu reefs in Singapore and 102 corals from Bolinao and Anda reefs in the Philippines were studied between 2019 and 2022. Heliofungia actiniformis broadcasts spawned gametes during several nights, generally between 22:00 and 01:00, before and after full moon, from February to May in Singapore and from March to June in the Philippines. Spawning within a month occurred for up to 16 nights in Singapore and 10 nights in the Philippines. Sex change in two individuals between years was observed in the Philippines. The average egg size was smaller in Singapore than that in the Philippines. We determined that eggs were fertilized within 2 h after sperm addition, and developed into swimming larvae within 64 h, which began to settle after 24 h. Larval survival after three mo of culture was 1.72 ± 1.0% and juvenile diameter ranged from 0.33 to 1.30 mm. Asexual buds were first observed in 15 mo old juveniles that were at least 8 mm in diameter. 24 mo old juveniles were observed to detach from their stalk and the empty stalk regenerated polyps. Our results highlight the latitudinal variability in the reproductive traits of solitary corals, serve as a baseline for their early life history, and advance our understanding of their population dynamics.
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Data from this study are available from the corresponding author on a reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kenith Adolfo, Robert Valenzuela, Ronaldo de Guzman, Renato Uriarte, Renato Adolfo, Fernando Castrence, Charlon Ligson, and Celine Campos of the Bolinao Marine Laboratory for the assistance with the experiment. We thank also Zi Wei Lim and Aaron Teo from the Experimental Marine Ecology Laboratory, National University of Singapore for field assistance in collecting the corals. We acknowledge the St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, a National Research Infrastructure under the National Research Foundation Singapore, for providing the facility necessary for conducting the research in Singapore. Sample collection in Singapore was carried out under permit issued by Singapore National Parks Board (Permit No. NP/RP18-042).
Funding
This study was funded in part by the In-House Grant from the Marine Science Institute, UPD to PCC and the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore (NRF) and the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) Joint Research Program No. NRF-ISF-2654/17 to PAT and YL.
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SGS, RP, PT, YL, PCC conceptualized the study. All authors contributed to the collection and preparation of data. SGS, RP did the statistical analyses. SGS prepared the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the review and writing of the manuscript.
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Sayco, S.L.G., Prasetia, R., Todd, P.A. et al. Reproductive biology and early life history of the solitary coral Heliofungia actiniformis from Singapore and the Philippines. Mar Biol 171, 56 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-023-04378-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-023-04378-y