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Phenology of sexual reproduction in the common coral reef sponge, Carteriospongia foliascens

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Abstract

Understanding processes that contribute to population maintenance is critical to the management and conservation of species. Despite this, very little is currently known about the reproductive biology of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) sponge species. Here, we established reproductive parameters including mode of sexuality and development, seasonality, sex ratios, gametogenesis, reproductive output, and size at sexual maturity for the common phototrophic intertidal sponge, Carteriospongia foliascens, in the central GBR over two reproductive cycles. A population sexual productivity index (PoSPi) integrating key reproductive parameters was formulated to compare population larval supply over time. This study shows that C. foliascens is reproductive all year round, gonochoric and viviparous, with larvae developing asynchronously throughout the mesohyl. The influence of environmental parameters relevant to C. foliascens reproduction [i.e., sea surface temperature (SST), photoperiod, and rainfall] was also examined, and SST was found to have the most significant effect on phenology. C. foliascens reproduction exhibited annual mono-cyclic patterns closely resembling SST fluctuations. Reproductive output was depressed at low SST (<23 °C) and increased at temperatures above 23 °C. Peak sperm release occurred at temperatures above 25 °C, while peak larval release occurred during the annual temperature maxima (>28 °C). A twofold increase in maximum larval production (PoSPi) in C. foliascens was observed in the second reproductive cycle, following a depressed PoSPi in the first cycle. This reduction in PoSPi in the first reproductive cycle was associated with elevated SST and rainfall, coinciding with one of the strongest La Niña events on record.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank M. Vermeij and three anonymous reviewers whose advice and comments improved the final version of this manuscript. We would also like to thank our field assistants for supporting collection of sponge samples over the period of this study. M.A. Abdul Wahab is supported by a JCUPRS and AIMS@JCU scholarships. NSW was funded through an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT120100480). This study was partly funded through an Australian Research Council linkage Grant with Reef HQ (LP0990664).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AIMS@JCU, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    M. A. Abdul Wahab, R. de Nys & N. Webster

  2. School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    M. A. Abdul Wahab & R. de Nys

  3. Australian Institute of Marine Science, PMB No. 3, Townsville, QLD, 4810, Australia

    M. A. Abdul Wahab & N. Webster

  4. Marine Ecology Research Centre, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia

    S. Whalan

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  1. M. A. Abdul Wahab
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  2. R. de Nys
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  3. N. Webster
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  4. S. Whalan
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Correspondence to M. A. Abdul Wahab.

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Communicated by Biology Editor Dr. Mark Vermeij

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Abdul Wahab, M.A., de Nys, R., Webster, N. et al. Phenology of sexual reproduction in the common coral reef sponge, Carteriospongia foliascens . Coral Reefs 33, 381–394 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-013-1119-9

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