Reproductive strategies of the coral Turbinaria reniformis in the northern Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea)
Open Access
- 14 February 2017
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Scientific Reports
- Vol. 7 (1), srep42670
- https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42670
Abstract
Here we describe for the first time the reproductive biology of the scleractinian coral Turbinaria reniformis studied during three years at the coral reefs of Eilat and Aqaba. We also investigated the possibility of sex change in individually tagged colonies followed over a period of 12 years. T. reniformis was found to be a stable gonochorist (no detected sex change) that reproduces by broadcast spawning 5–6 nights after the full moon of June and July. Spawning was highly synchronized between individuals in the field and in the lab. Reproduction of T. reniformis is temporally isolated from the times at which most other corals reproduce in Eilat. Its relatively long reproductive cycle compared to other hermaphroditic corals may be due to the high reproductive effort associated with the production of eggs by gonochoristic females. Sex ratio in both the Aqaba and Eilat coral populations deviated significantly from a 1:1 ratio. The larger number of males than of females may provide a compensation for sperm limitation due to its dilution in the water column. We posit that such sex allocation would facilitate adaptation within gonochoristic species by increasing fertilization success in low density populations, constituting a phenomenon possibly regulated by chemical communication.This publication has 61 references indexed in Scilit:
- Environmental condition related reproductive strategies and sex ratio in hydrasActa Zoologica, 2011
- Tackling the diversity of sex determinationBiology Letters, 2009
- Reproductive patterns of fungiid corals in Okinawa, JapanGalaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies, 2009
- Bidirectional sex change in mushroom stony coralsProceedings. Biological sciences, 2008
- Steroids in aquatic invertebratesEcotoxicology, 2007
- Density‐Dependent Sexual Selection in External Fertilizers: Variances in Male and Female Fertilization Success along the Continuum from Sperm Limitation to Sexual Conflict in the Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus franciscanusThe American Naturalist, 2004
- The costs of reproduction in plantsNew Phytologist, 2002
- The primary sex ratio under environmental sex determinationJournal of Theoretical Biology, 1989
- Senescence and dying signals in a reef building coralCellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 1986
- GAMETOGENESIS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEMPERATE CORALASTRANGIA DANAE(ANTHOZOA: SCLERACTINIA)The Biological Bulletin, 1980