First record of synchronous coral spawning in a marginal coral community in Shenzhen, China

First record of multi-species synchronous coral spawning from Malaysia

10.7287/peerj.preprints.645v1 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Alvin J Cheliah ◽

Halimi Bin Amir ◽

Julian Hyde ◽

Katie Yewdall ◽

Peter D Steinberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Full Moon ◽

First Record ◽

Common Species ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Seasonal Cycles ◽

Coral Triangle ◽

Synchronous Spawning ◽

Coral Reef Ecosystems ◽

Coral Spawning ◽

Spawning Synchrony

Knowledge about the timing and synchrony of coral spawning has important implications for both the ecology and management of coral reef ecosystems, however,data on spawning timing and extent of synchrony are still lacking for many coral reefs, particularly from equatorial regions and from locations within the coral triangle. Here we present the first documentation of a multi-species coral spawning event from reefs around Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia, a popular diving and tourist destination located on the edge of the coral triangle. At least 8 coral species from 3 genera and 2 families participated in multi-species spawning over five nights in April 2014, between two nights before and two nights after the full moon. Two Acropora species (A. digitifera and A. tenuis) also spawned one night prior to the full moon in October 2014. While two species of Acropora (A. millepora and A. nasuta) exhibited highly synchronous spawning in April (100% of sampled colonies), two other common species (A. hyacinthus and A. digitifera) did not contain visible eggs in the majority of colonies sampled (i.e., <15% of colonies) in either April or October, suggesting that these species spawn at other times of the year. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed documented observation of multi-species coral spawning from reefs in Malaysia and these data support the contention that this phenomenon is a feature of all speciose coral assemblages. More research is needed, however, to determine the seasonal cycles and extent of spawning synchrony on these reefs and elsewhere in Malaysia.

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First record of multi-species synchronous coral spawning from Malaysia

10.7287/peerj.preprints.645 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Alvin J Cheliah ◽

Halimi Bin Amir ◽

Julian Hyde ◽

Katie Yewdall ◽

Peter D Steinberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Full Moon ◽

First Record ◽

Common Species ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Seasonal Cycles ◽

Coral Triangle ◽

Synchronous Spawning ◽

Coral Reef Ecosystems ◽

Coral Spawning ◽

Spawning Synchrony

Knowledge about the timing and synchrony of coral spawning has important implications for both the ecology and management of coral reef ecosystems, however,data on spawning timing and extent of synchrony are still lacking for many coral reefs, particularly from equatorial regions and from locations within the coral triangle. Here we present the first documentation of a multi-species coral spawning event from reefs around Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia, a popular diving and tourist destination located on the edge of the coral triangle. At least 8 coral species from 3 genera and 2 families participated in multi-species spawning over five nights in April 2014, between two nights before and two nights after the full moon. Two Acropora species (A. digitifera and A. tenuis) also spawned one night prior to the full moon in October 2014. While two species of Acropora (A. millepora and A. nasuta) exhibited highly synchronous spawning in April (100% of sampled colonies), two other common species (A. hyacinthus and A. digitifera) did not contain visible eggs in the majority of colonies sampled (i.e., <15% of colonies) in either April or October, suggesting that these species spawn at other times of the year. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed documented observation of multi-species coral spawning from reefs in Malaysia and these data support the contention that this phenomenon is a feature of all speciose coral assemblages. More research is needed, however, to determine the seasonal cycles and extent of spawning synchrony on these reefs and elsewhere in Malaysia.

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High reproductive synchrony of Acropora (Anthozoa: Scleractinia) in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.6004.1 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 2 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jessica Bouwmeester ◽

Michael L. Berumen

Keyword(s):

Full Moon ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Reproductive Condition ◽

Sampling Protocol ◽

Reproductive Synchrony ◽

Synchronous Spawning ◽

The World ◽

Coral Spawning ◽

Spawning Synchrony ◽

Very High

Coral spawning in the northern Gulf of Aqaba has been reported to be asynchronous, making it almost unique when compared to other regions in the world. Here, we document the reproductive condition of Acropora corals in early June 2014 in Dahab, in the Gulf of Aqaba, 125 km south of previous studies conducted in Eilat, Israel. Seventy-eight percent of Acropora colonies from 14 species had mature eggs, indicating that most colonies will spawn on or around the June full moon, with a very high probability of multi-species synchronous spawning. Given the proximity to Eilat, we predict that a comparable sampling protocol would detect similar levels of reproductive synchrony throughout the Gulf of Aqaba consistent with the hypothesis that high levels of spawning synchrony are a feature of all speciose coral assemblages.

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BROADCAST SPAWNING PATTERN AND PELAGIC LARVAE DURATION OF ACROPORA CYTHEREA AND A. CLATHRATA FROM INSHORE REEF AREA IN KUANTAN COASTAL REGION

Science Heritage Journal ◽

10.26480/gws.02.2020.51.55 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 51-55

Author(s):

Muhammad Faiz Mohd Hanapiah ◽

Shahbudin Saad ◽

Zuhairi Ahmad ◽

Muhammad Hamizan Yusof ◽

Mohd Fikri Akmal Khodzori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

East Coast ◽

Full Moon ◽

Coastal Region ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Population Connectivity ◽

Broadcast Spawning ◽

Pelagic Larvae ◽

Inshore Reef ◽

Coral Spawning ◽

Histological Results

Acropora sp. is the second-most abundant among the coral genera in the Kuantan coastal region (KCR) located on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This study investigated the timing of coral spawning of two Acropora species; Acropora cytherea and Acropora clathrata through dissection and histological analyses of coral fragments that were collected during predicted spawning months (March until May 2018) from Balok reef, Kuantan. Histological results showed the presence of mature oocytes from a sample collected in April and May 2018, which indicate an extended gamete release pattern for these species within KCR. The gamete maturity coincided with the peak sea surface temperature within KCR from April until May. Both Acropora species spawned between 10-11 nights after the full moon. Present results also indicated that both Acropora species have optimal pelagic larvae duration (PLD) between 6 – 8 days after spawning. This study contributed to the limited knowledge of coral reproductive biology on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. In addition, the timing of coral spawning provides valuable data for population connectivity modelling.

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First record of multi-species synchronous coral spawning from Malaysia

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.777 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. e777 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Alvin Chelliah ◽

Halimi Bin Amar ◽

Julian Hyde ◽

Katie Yewdall ◽

Peter D. Steinberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

First Record ◽

Coral Spawning

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Peer Review #1 of "First record of multi-species synchronous coral spawning from Malaysia (v0.1)"

10.7287/peerj.777v0.1/reviews/1 ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

First Record ◽

Coral Spawning

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Peer Review #2 of "First record of multi-species synchronous coral spawning from Malaysia (v0.1)"

10.7287/peerj.777v0.1/reviews/2 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

RB Francini-Filho

Keyword(s):

Peer Review ◽

First Record ◽

Coral Spawning

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Moonrise timing is key for synchronized spawning in coral Dipsastraea speciosa

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2101985118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (34) ◽

pp. e2101985118

Author(s):

Che-Hung Lin ◽

Shunichi Takahashi ◽

Aziz J. Mulla ◽

Yoko Nozawa

Keyword(s):

Environmental Change ◽

Laboratory Experiments ◽

Full Moon ◽

Regulatory Mechanism ◽

Dark Period ◽

Lunar Cycle ◽

Suppressive Effect ◽

Light Conditions ◽

Mass Spawning ◽

Coral Spawning

Synchronized mass coral spawning typically occurs several days after a full moon once a year. It is expected that spawning day is determined by corals sensing environmental change regulated by the lunar cycle (i.e., tide or moonlight); however, the exact regulatory mechanism remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate how moonlight influences the spawning process of coral, Dipsastraea speciosa. When corals in the field were shaded 1 and 3 d before the full moon or 1 d after the full moon, spawning always occurred 5 d after shading commenced. These results suggest moonlight suppresses spawning: a hypothesis supported by laboratory experiments in which we monitored the effects of experimental moonlight (night-light) on spawning day. Different night-light treatments in the laboratory showed that the presence of a dark period between day-light and night-light conditions eliminates the suppressive effect of night-light on spawning. In nature, moonrise gets progressively later during the course of the lunar cycle, shifting to after sunset following the day of the full moon. Our results indicate that this period of darkness between sunset and moonrise triggers synchronized mass spawning of D. speciosa in nature.

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