Frontiers in Marine Science (Jul 2024)
Coral spawning patterns on the Luhuitou fringing reef in Hainan Island of the northern South China Sea
- Youfang Sun,
- Youfang Sun,
- Youfang Sun,
- Yuyang Zhang,
- Yuyang Zhang,
- Yuyang Zhang,
- Lei Jiang,
- Lei Jiang,
- Lei Jiang,
- Xiaolei Yu,
- Xiaolei Yu,
- Lintao Huang,
- Lintao Huang,
- Tao Yuan,
- Tao Yuan,
- Tao Yuan,
- Jianhui Yang,
- Jiansheng Lian,
- Jiansheng Lian,
- Jiansheng Lian,
- Chengyue Liu,
- Chengyue Liu,
- Chengyue Liu,
- Put Ang,
- Put Ang,
- Hui Huang,
- Hui Huang,
- Hui Huang
Affiliations
- Youfang Sun
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Youfang Sun
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Youfang Sun
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Yuyang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Yuyang Zhang
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Yuyang Zhang
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Lei Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Lei Jiang
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Lei Jiang
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Xiaolei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Xiaolei Yu
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Lintao Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Lintao Huang
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Tao Yuan
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Tao Yuan
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Tao Yuan
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Jianhui Yang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Jiansheng Lian
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Jiansheng Lian
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Jiansheng Lian
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Chengyue Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Chengyue Liu
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Chengyue Liu
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Put Ang
- Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Put Ang
- Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Hui Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- Hui Huang
- Sanya National Marine Ecosystem Research Station; Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- Hui Huang
- CAS-HKUST Sanya Joint Laboratory of Marine Science Research and Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biotechnology of Hainan Province, Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1418942
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11
Abstract
Observation of coral spawning times is valuable to detect spawning patterns and identify the potential mechanisms behind coral reproduction. Although large amount of data on global coral spawning records have become available over the past decades, information on coral spawning in the northern South China Sea remains scarce. In this study, we investigated the spawning patterns of scleractinian corals in Luhuitou fringing reef, Hainan Island, China, from 2009 to 2021 in relation to lunar cycles (month and day). The spawning times of 22 coral species from five genera (Acropora, Montipora, Platygyra, Dipsastraea, and Galaxea) within three families (Acroporidae, Merulinidae, and Euphylliidae) were recorded, with spawning occurring from lunar February to May 2009–2021. Recorded spawning events started at a period of increasing seawater temperature. Acropora, the most documented genus, spawned between lunar February and April, but primarily in lunar March. Importantly, the spawning time of Acropora was delayed for one lunar month in 2016 most likely due to a rapid decrease in monthly mean seawater temperature in lunar February. Spawning lunar days before, on or after full moon of corals in the Luhuitou Reef, including those of the Acropora species, were highly variable between years even for the same species. No predictable pattern of spawning times can thus be detected. Nonetheless, our results fill up an information gap on coral spawning patterns in the northern South China Sea that may be useful for further understanding of the reproductive biology of scleractinian corals throughout the Indo–West Pacific.
Keywords