Reproduction and recruitment of corals : comparisons among the Caribbean, the Tropical Pacific, and the Red Sea

Detailed reproductive data are now available for 210 of the ca 600 identified scleractinian reef coral species. The majonty (131 species) are hermaphroditic broadcast spawners, although hermaphroditic brooders (1 1 species), gonochoristic broadcasters (37 species), and gonochoristic brooders (7 species) have also been reported. Characteristics of sexuality and mode of reproduction are generally conservative within species, genera, and even families, although some exceptions occur. Variation in timing or mode of reproduction in allopatric populations may represent adaptations to local environmental conditions or indicate problems in the taxonomy of some groups. Synchronous spawning of numerous species occurs on the Great Barrier Reef, while asynchrony among and withln species has been observed in the Red Sea, Caribbean, Central Pacific, Hawall, and southern Japan. Sexual reproduct~on is the primary means for successful recruitment for some coral populations, while asexual processes may be the dominant or sole means of recruitment for these same species at the limits of their ranges. Recruitment success of different reproductive strategies may vary within and between localities, and is mediated by both biotic (predation, competition) and abiotic (environmental variability, disturbance) factors. Data on reproductive patterns and recruitment success may be applied to coral reef management practices.

[1]  B. Willis,et al.  Patterns in the mass spawning of corals on the Great Barrier Reef from 1981 to 1984 , 1985 .

[2]  A. Heyward,et al.  Growth and sexual reproduction in the scleractinian coral Montipora digitata (Dana) , 1985 .

[3]  Y. Loya,et al.  Coral Community Reproductive Patterns: Red Sea Versus the Great Barrier Reef , 1985, Science.

[4]  B. Willis,et al.  Mass Spawning in Tropical Reef Corals , 1984, Science.

[5]  Y. Loya,et al.  The Reproduction of the Red Sea Coral Stylophora pistillata. I. Gonads and Planulae , 1979 .

[6]  C. Wallace.  Reproduction, recruitment and fragmentation in nine sympatric species of the coral genus Acropora , 1985 .

[7]  K. Rylaarsdam.  Life histories and abundance patterns of colonial corals on Jamaican reefs , 1983 .

[8]  R. Babcock,et al.  Self- and cross-fertilization in scleractinian corals , 1986 .

[9]  V. Tunnicliffe.  Breakage and propagation of the stony coral Acropora cervicornis. , 1981, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  T. Tomascik,et al.  Effects of eutrophication on reef-building corals , 1985 .

[11]  K. Atoda.  The larva and postlarval development of some reef-building corals.V.(Seritopora hystrix)Dana , 1951 .

[12]  P. Sammarco.  The Great Barrier Reef vs. the Caribbean: Comparisons of grazers, coral recruitment patterns and reef recovery , 1985 .

[13]  R. Richmond.  Energetic relationships and biogeographical differences among fecundity, growth and reproduction in the reef coral Pocillopora damicornis , 1987 .

[14]  T. Goreau,et al.  THE PHYSIOLOGY OF SKELETON FORMATION IN CORALS. II. CALCIUM DEPOSITION BY HERMATYPIC CORALS UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS IN THE REEF , 1959 .

[15]  J. C. Andrews,et al.  Localized Dispersal and Recruitment in Great Barrier Reef Corals: The Helix Experiment , 1988, Science.

[16]  C. Wallace,et al.  Acropora in Hawaii. Part 1. History of the Scientific Record, Systematics, and Ecology , 1981 .

[17]  W. Abrahamson.  Demography and vegetative reproduction. , 1980 .

[18]  P. Jokiel.  Ecology, biogeography and evolution of corals in Hawaii. , 1987, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[19]  Y. Loya.  The Red Sea coral Stylophora pistillata is an r strategist , 1976, Nature.

[20]  B. R. Hall,et al.  Life History, Growth Habits, And Constructional Roles of Acropora Cervicornis in the Patch Reef Environment , 1976 .

[21]  B. Kojis,et al.  Reproductive Ecology of Two Faviid Corals (Coelenterata: Scleractinia) , 1982 .

[22]  P. Sammarco.  Polyp Bail-Out: An Escape Response to Environmental Stress and a New Means of Reproduction in Corals , 1982 .

[23]  J. Stoddart.  Asexual production of planulae in the coral Pocillopora damicornis , 1983 .

[24]  C. Hunter.  Genotypic Diversity and Population Structure of the Hawaiian Reef Coral, Porites compressa , 1988 .

[25]  C. H. Edmondson.  Growth of Hawaiian corals , 1929 .

[26]  J. C. Andrews,et al.  The helix experiment: differential localized dispersal and recruitment patterns in Great Barrier Reef corals , 1989 .

[27]  J. E. Duerden.  West Indian Madreporarian polyps. By J. E. Duerden ... , 2022 .

[28]  R. Richmond,et al.  Lunar periodicity in larva release in the reef coral Pocillopora damicornis at Enewetak and Hawaii , 1984 .

[29]  J. Stoddart.  Genetical structure within populations of the coral Pocillopora damicornis , 1984 .

[30]  D. Ayre,et al.  Sexual and asexual production of planulae in reef corals , 1986 .

[31]  R. Highsmith.  Reproduction by Fragmentation in Corals , 1982 .

[32]  J. Taylor,et al.  Reef Coral from Aldabra: New Mode of Reproduction , 1969, Science.

[33]  S. G. Fisher.  CORAL TRANSPLANTATION AS A REEF MANAGEMENT OPTION , 1988 .

[34]  K. Atoda.  The larva and postlarval development of the reef‐building corals IV. Galaxea aspera quelch , 1951 .

[35]  Y. Loya,et al.  The reproduction of the Red Sea Coral Stylophora pistillata.II.Synchronization in breeding and seasonality of planulae shedding. , 1979 .

[36]  K. Atoda.  The larva and postlarval development of the reef‐building corals III. Acropora brüggemanni (BROOK) , 1951 .

[37]  J. Stimson.  Mode and timing of reproduction in some common hermatypic corals of Hawaii and Enewetak , 1978 .

[38]  E. Chornesky,et al.  SEXUAL REPRODUCTION AND COLONY GROWTH IN THE SCLERACTINIAN CORAL PORITES ASTREOIDES , 1987 .

[39]  T. Dana.  Development of contemporary Eastern Pacific coral reefs , 1975 .

[40]  S. A. Mileikovsky.  Types of larval development in marine bottom invertebrates, their distribution and ecological significance: a re-evaluation , 1971 .

[41]  Charles Sheppard,et al.  Coral species of the Indian Ocean and adjacent seas: a synonymized compilation and some regional distributional patterns , 1987 .

[42]  K. Emery.  Marine geology of Guam , 1962 .

[43]  D. A. Douglas.  The Balance between Vegetative and Sexual Reproduction of Mimulus Primuloides (Scrophulariaceae) at Different Altitudes in California , 1981 .

[44]  R. Richmond.  Energetics, competency, and long-distance dispersal of planula larvae of the coral Pocillopora damicornis , 1987 .

[45]  M. Engel,et al.  Distribution, abundance and survival of juvenile hermatypic corals (Scleractinia) and the importance of life history strategies in the parent coral community , 1979 .

[46]  G. V. Moorsel.  Reproductive strategies in two closely related stony corals (Agaricia, Scleractinia) , 1983 .