Abstract
Sexual reproduction in corals is pivotal for the survival of populations in the face of climate change. Off Jeju Island, which lies off the south coast of Korea, a high-latitude scleractinian coral, Alveopora japonica, has experienced a population explosion over the past couple of decades (at 5–15 m depths). A second species, Oulastrea crispata, which is generally present at high latitudes and extreme environments, has a stable population and dominates in the shallow subtidal waters of southern Jeju. This study examined the annual gametogenesis patterns of A. japonica off the north (33°24′N, 126°13′E) and south (33°14′N, 126°36′E) coasts of Jeju Island, and of O. crispata in the south. Histological analysis revealed that the oogonia and spermatogonia in A. japonica developed in separate mesenterial filaments, while the gonads in O. crispata developed in the same filament. Alveopora japonica had the same brooding period during late summer and early fall (Aug–Sep 2015) at both sites. The spawning period of O. crispata was also during late summer and early fall. Brooding in A. japonica was concordant with previous observations of its planula during the brooding period. This study provides the first data on the timing of reproduction of these two high-latitude corals from Jeju Island, which may help our understanding of the population dynamics of corals in other high-latitude environments.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acosta, A., and S. Zea. 1997. Sexual reproduction of the reef coral Montastrea cavernosa (Scleractinia: Faviidae) in the Santa Marta area, Caribbean coast of Colombia. Marine Biology 128 (1): 141–148.
Baird, A.H., and D.P. Thomson. 2018. Coral reproduction at Hall Bank, a high latitude coral assemblage in Western Australia. Aquatic Biology 27: 55–63.
Baird, A.H., J.R. Guest, and B.L. Willis. 2009. Systematic and biogeographical patterns in the reproductive biology of scleractinian corals. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 40 (1): 551–571.
Chang, S.J., M. Rodriguez-Lanetty, K. Yanagi, S. Nojima, and J.I. Song. 2014. Two anthozoans, Entacmaea quadricolor (Order: Actiniaria) and Alveopora japonica (Order: Scleractinia), host consistent genotypes of Symbiodinium spp. across geographic ranges in the north western Pacific Ocean. Animal Cells and Systems 15: 316–325.
Chen, K.S., H.J. Hsieh, S. Keshavmurthy, J.K.L. Leung, I.T. Lien, Y. Nakano, S. Plathong, H. Huang, and C.A. Chen. 2011. Latitudinal gradient of morphological variations in Zebra coral Oulastrea crispata (Scleractinia: Faviidae) in the West Pacific. Zoological Studies 50: 43–52.
Clark, T.H. 1997. The ecology of indigenous and transplanted corals in the Cape D’Aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Dissertation, University of Hong Kong.
Collinson P.R.J. 1997. The ecology of a peripheral, subtropical coral community in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Dissertation, University of Hong Kong.
De Palmas, S., V. Denis, L. Ribas-Deulofeu, M. Loubeyres, S. Woo, S.J. Hwang, J.I. Song, and C.A. Chen. 2015. Symbiodinium spp. associated with high-latitude scleractinian corals from Jeju Island, South Korea. Coral Reefs 34 (3): 919–925.
Denis, V., C.A. Chen, J.I. Song, and S. Woo. 2013. Alveopora japonica beds thriving under kelp. Coral Reefs 32 (2): 503–503.
Denis, V., L. Ribas-Deulofeu, M. Loubeyres, S. De Palmas, S.J. Hwang, S. Woo, J.I. Song, and C.A. Chen. 2015. Recruitment of the subtropical coral Alveopora japonica in the temperate waters of Jeju Island, South Korea. Bulletin of Marine Science 91: 85–96.
Eyal-Shaham, L., G. Eyal, R. Tamir, and Y. Loya. 2016. Reproduction, abundance and survivorship of two Alveopora spp. in the mesophotic reefs of Eilat, Red Sea. Scientific Reports 6 (1): –11.
Fan, T.Y., and C.F. Dai. 1995. Reproductive ecology of the scleractinian coral Echinopora lamellosa in northern and southern Taiwan. Marine Biology 123 (3): 565–572.
Fellegara, I., A.H. Baird, and S. Ward. 2013. Coral reproduction in a high-latitude, marginal reef environment (Moreton Bay, south-east Queensland, Australia). Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 57 (3): 219–223.
Guest, J.R., L.M. Chou, and B. Goh. 2012. Reproductive seasonality of the reef building coral Platygyra pini on Singapore’s reef. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 25: 123–131.
Guinotte, J.M., R.W. Buddemeier, and J.A. Kleypas. 2003. Future coral reef habitat marginality: temporal and spatial effects of climate change in the Pacific basin. Coral Reefs 22 (4): 551–558.
Harii, S., M. Omori, H. Yamakawa, and Y. Koike. 2001. Sexual reproduction and larval settlement of the zooxanthellate coral Alveopora japonica Eguchi at high latitudes. Coral Reefs 20: 19–23.
Harithsa, S., C. Raghukumar, and S.G. Dalal. 2005. Stress response of two coral species in the Kavaratti atoll of the Lakshadweep archipelago, India. Coral Reefs 24 (3): 463–474.
Harrison, P.L. 2011. Sexual reproduction of scleractinian corals. In Coral reefs: an ecosystem in transition, ed. Z. Dubinsky and N. Stambler, 59–85. Dordrecht: Springer.
Harrison, P.L., and C. Wallace. 1990. Reproduction, dispersal and recruitment of scleractinian corals. In Ecosystems of the world 25: coral reefs, ed. Z. Dubinsky, 133–207. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Hirose, M., R.A. Kinzie, and M. Hidaka. 2001. Timing and process of entry of zooxanthellae into oocytes of hermatypic corals. Coral Reefs 20: 273–280.
Hong, H.K., S. Keshavmurthy, C.K. Kang, K. Hwang, S.R. Park, S.H. Cho, and K.S. Choi. 2015. Alveopora japonica repopulation of a bare substrate off Jeju Island, Korea. Bulletin of Marine Science 91 (4): 477–478.
Igarashi, T., T. Higashi, and T. Hamada. 1992. Planulation of a coral Alveropora japonica in Izu, Central Japan. Proceedings of the 7th International Coral Reef Symposium 1: 501.
Kawaguti, S., and D. Sakumoto. 1952. Pigment of skeleton of a reef coral, Oulastrea crispata. Biological Journal of Okayama University 1: 265–270.
Lam, K.K.Y. 2000. Sexual reproduction of a low-temperature tolerant coral Oulastrea crispata (Screlactinia: Faviidae) in Hong Kong, China. Marine Ecology Progress Series 205: 101–111.
Masse, L.M., M.G. Sere, A.J. Smit, and M.H. Schleyer. 2012. Sexual reproduction in Pocillopora damicornis at high latitude off South Africa. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science 11: 55–65.
Nakano, Y., and K. Yamazato. 1992. Ecological study of reproduction of Oulastrea crispata in Okinawa. Zoological Science 9: 1292.
Riegl, B., and W.E. Piller. 2003. Possible refugia for reefs in times of environmental stress. International Journal of Earth Sciences 92 (4): 520–531.
Schindelin, J., C.T. Rueden, M.C. Hiner, and K.W. Eliceiri. 2015. The ImageJ ecosystem: an open platform for biomedical image analysis. Molecular Reproduction and Development 82 (7-8): 518–529.
Song, J.I. 1991. The systematic study on the Korean Anthozoa 12. Order Scleractinia. Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity 7: 127–150.
Sugihara, K., H. Yamano, K.S. Choi, and K. Hyeong. 2014. Zooxanthellate scleractinian corals of Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. Ecological Research Monographs 2: 111–130.
Szmant-Froelich, A.M. 1985. The effect of colony size on the reproductive ability of the Caribbean coral Montastrea annularis (Ellis and Solander). In Proceedings of the 5th International Coral Reef Congress, eds. C. Gabrie and B. Salvat 4: 295–300. Tahiti: Antenne Museum.
Thamrin, S. Nojima, and M. Tokeshi. 2001. Experimental analysis of planula release in a scleractinian coral Alveopora japonica. Journal of Coral Reef Society 2001 (3): 25–30.
Veron, J.E.N. 1993. Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.
Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the world. Townsville: Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Vieira, C., S. Keshavmurthy, S.J. Ju, K. Hyeong, I. Seo, C.K. Kang, H.K. Hong, C.A. Chen, and K.S. Choi. 2016. Population dynamics of a high-latitude coral Alveopora japonica Eguchi from Jeju Island, off the southern coast of Korea. Marine & Freshwater Research 67 (5): 594–604.
Yajima, T., O. Sano, T. Okamoto, Y. Shirai, T. Shinya, and M. Matada. 1986. Ecological distribution of the reef coral, Oulastrea crispata (Lamarck) at the shore region in the vicinity of Tukumo Bay. Bulletin of the Japan Sea Research Institute 18: 21–36.
Yamano, H., K. Sugihara, and K. Nomura. 2011. Rapid poleward range expansion of tropical reef corals in response to rising sea surface temperatures. Geophysical Research Letters 38: L04601.
Yamazato, K., E. Suwardi, and S. Sultana. 2008. Reproductive cycle of brooding corals at high latitude. Journal of the Japanese Coral Reef Society, 10: 1–11.
Zayasu, Y., K. Miyazaki, Y.T. Lien, and N. Okubo. 2015. Direct evidence of sexual reproduction in the zebra coral, Oulastrea crispata (Anthozoa, Scleractinia), in Japan. Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 59 (2): 61–65.
Acknowledgments
We thank the staff of the Shellfish Research and Aquaculture Laboratory at Jeju National University for their help with data analysis.
Funding
This work was supported by funding from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea, through the “Long-term changes of structure and function in marine ecosystems of Korea (2018)” project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Judy Grassle
Electronic Supplementary Material
ESM 1
(DOCX 1092 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Park, JS., Keshavmurthy, S., Subramaniam, T. et al. Annual Gametogenesis Patterns in Two High-Latitude Corals, Alveopora japonica and Oulastrea crispata, from Jeju Island, South Korea. Estuaries and Coasts 43, 477–486 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00539-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00539-9