Nature Communications (Aug 2019)

Split spawning increases robustness of coral larval supply and inter-reef connectivity

  • Karlo Hock,
  • Christopher Doropoulos,
  • Rebecca Gorton,
  • Scott A. Condie,
  • Peter J. Mumby

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11367-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Corals occasionally split their spawning over two consecutive months rather than utilising a single annual event. Here, the authors model coral larval dispersal to show that split spawning may increase the reliability of larval supply to reefs, with implications for recovery from disturbances.