Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr James Guest
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to International Coral Reef Society (ICRS).Reproductive traits such as fecundity (i.e., the number of gametes produced) and the size and age of coral colonies at reproductive onset can vary in predictable ways among life history strategies. However, most studies on the onset of reproductive maturity in corals only report the presence or absence of oocytes with little known about variation in fecundity across size and age classes. This study aimed to determine the colony size and fecundity at the onset of reproductive maturity across size classes of two scleractinian corals with contrasting life history strategies, Acropora millepora (competitive) and Favites colemani (stress-tolerant). Colonies at a site in northwestern Philippines were sampled to determine the smallest colony size class with mature oocytes and to estimate fecundity across size classes. Histological slides were also prepared to verify the presence of mature gametes. Colonies were able to produce mature oocytes when they had attained colony diameters of 4.7 cm for A. millepora and 1.5 cm for F. colemani. A. millepora had lower fecundity, but larger oocytes compared to F. colemani. Although small colonies can contribute to the larval pool, the proportion of mature colonies increased for larger size classes, suggesting that larger colonies make a disproportionately greater contribution to population reproductive output. These findings contribute to our understanding of coral population dynamics, particularly in parameterizing population and demographic models for different coral life histories.
Author(s): Bonilla KG, Guest JR, Baria-Rodriguez MV
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Coral Reefs
Year: 2023
Volume: 42
Pages: 717-728
Print publication date: 01/06/2023
Online publication date: 19/04/2023
Acceptance date: 03/04/2023
Date deposited: 13/06/2023
ISSN (print): 0722-4028
ISSN (electronic): 1432-0975
Publisher: Springer
URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-023-02380-w
DOI: 10.1007/s00338-023-02380-w
ePrints DOI: 10.57711/jcqk-z028
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
