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Sexual systems in scleractinian corals: an unusual pattern in the reef-building species Diploastrea heliopora

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Abstract

The sexual system in corals refers to the spatial and temporal pattern of sexual function within an individual coral polyp, colony or population. Although information on sexual systems now exists for over 400 scleractinian species, data are still lacking for some important reef-building taxa. The vast majority of scleractinians are either simultaneous hermaphrodites or gonochoric with other sexual systems rarely occurring. Diploastrea heliopora is one of the most ubiquitous and easily recognised reef-building species in the Indo-West Pacific; however, surprisingly little is known about its reproductive biology. The aim of the present study was to examine the reproductive biology of D. heliopora colonies on chronically impacted, equatorial reefs south of Singapore. Here we show that in Singapore, D. heliopora is a broadcast spawner with predominantly gonochoric polyps. Colonies, however, contained male, female and a low proportion of cosexual polyps during the 14-month sampling period. The most plausible explanation for this is that polyps switch sexes with oogenic and spermatogenic cycles occasionally overlapping. This leads to colony level alternation of sex function within and between breeding seasons. While this sexual system is atypical for scleractinians, it supports molecular evidence that D. heliopora is phylogenetically distinct from species formerly in the family Faviidae.

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Acknowledgments

J.R. Guest was supported by a National University of Singapore Graduate Fellowship and a Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 FRC Grant (Grant number: R-154-000-432-112).

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Author notes

  1. J. R. Guest

    Present address: Centre for Marine Bio-innovation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Block S2, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    J. R. Guest & L. M. Chou

  2. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia

    A. H. Baird

  3. Natural Sciences and Science Education, National Institute of Education/NTU, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore, 637616, Singapore

    B. P. L. Goh

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  1. J. R. Guest
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  4. L. M. Chou
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Correspondence to J. R. Guest.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Mark Vermeij

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Guest, J.R., Baird, A.H., Goh, B.P.L. et al. Sexual systems in scleractinian corals: an unusual pattern in the reef-building species Diploastrea heliopora . Coral Reefs 31, 705–713 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0881-4

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