Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T16:34:45.079Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of elevated temperature on fecundity and reproductive timing in the coral Acropora digitifera

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2015

Camille W. Paxton ,
Maria Vanessa B. Baria ,
Virginia M. Weis  and
Saki Harii
Camille W. Paxton*
Affiliation:
Tropical Biosphere Research Center Sesoko Research Facility, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa Prefecture Motobu Sesoko 3422 905–0227, Japan.
Maria Vanessa B. Baria
Affiliation:
Tropical Biosphere Research Center Sesoko Research Facility, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa Prefecture Motobu Sesoko 3422 905–0227, Japan.
Virginia M. Weis
Affiliation:
Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, 3029 Cordley Hall Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Saki Harii
Affiliation:
Tropical Biosphere Research Center Sesoko Research Facility, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa Prefecture Motobu Sesoko 3422 905–0227, Japan.
*
All correspondence to: Camille Paxton. Tropical Biosphere Research Center Sesoko Research Facility, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa Prefecture Motobu Sesoko 3422 905–0227, Japan. Tel: 828 319 7103. E-mail: paxtonca@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The synchrony of spawning is of paramount importance to successful coral reproduction. The precise timing of spawning is thought to be controlled by a set of interacting environmental factors, including regional wind field patterns, timing of the sunset, and sea surface temperatures (SST). Climate change is resulting in increased SST, which is causing physiological stress in corals and could also be altering spawning synchrony and timing. In this study, we examined the effect of increasing seawater temperature by 2°C for 1 month prior to the predicted spawning time on reproduction in the coral Acropora digitifera. This short period of elevated temperature caused spawning to advance by 1 day. In animals incubated at elevated temperature, egg number per egg bundle did not change, however, egg volume significantly decreased as did sperm number. Our results indicate that temperature is acting both as a proximate cue to accelerate timing and as a stressor on gametogenesis to reduce fecundity. This finding suggests that increasing SSTs could play a dramatic role in altering reproductive timing and the success of corals in an era of climate change.

Keywords

Acropora digitiferaClimate changeCoralsGametogenesisSpawning
Type
Short Communication
Information
Zygote , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 511 - 516
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdo, D.A., Bellchambers, L.M. & Evans, S.N. (2012). Turning up the heat: increasing temperature and coral bleaching at the high latitude coral reefs of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands. PLoS One 7, e43878.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brady, A.K., Hilton, J.D. & Vize, P.D. (2009). Coral spawn timing is a direct response to solar light cycles and is not an entrained circadian response. Coral Reefs 28, 677–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowder, C.M., Liang, W.L., Weis, V.M. & Fan, T.Y. (2014). Elevated temperature alters the lunar timing of planulation in the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis . PLoS One 9, e107906.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donner, S.D. (2009). Coping with commitment: projected thermal stress on coral reefs under different future scenarios. PLoS One 4, e5712.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gorbunov, M.Y. & Falkowski, P.G. (2002). Photoreceptors in the cnidarian hosts allow symbiotic corals to sense blue moonlight. Limnol. Oceanogr. 47, 309–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, P.L. (2011). Sexual reproduction of scleractinian corals. In Coral Reefs: An Ecosystem in Transition (eds Dubinsky, Z. & Stambler, N.), pp. 59–85. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, P.L., Babcock, R.C., Bull, G.D., Oliver, J.K., Wallace, C.C. & Willis, B.L. (1984). Mass spawning in tropical reef corals. Science 223, 1186–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hayashibara, T., Shimoike, K., Kimura, T., Hosaka, S., Heyward, A., Harrison, P., Kudo, K. & Omori, M. (1993). Patterns of coral spawning at Akajima Island, Okinawa, Japan. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 101, 253–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heyward, A.J. & Babcock, R.C. (1986). Self- and cross-fertilization in scleractinian corals. Mar. Biol. 90, 191–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoegh-Guldberg, O., Mumby, P., Hooten, A., Steneck, R., Greenfield, P., Gomez, E., Harvell, C.D., Sale, P.F., Edwards, A.J., Caldeira, K., Knowlton, N., Eakin, C.M., Iglesias-Prieto, R., Muthiga, N., Bradbury, R.H., Dubi, A. & Hatziolos, M.E. (2007). Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification. Science 318, 1737–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunter, C. (1988). Environmental cues controlling spawning in two Hawaiian corals, Montipora verrucosa and M. dilatata. In Proceedings of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium Townsville, Australia (eds Choat, J.H. & Barnes, D.), 2, 727–32.Google Scholar
Kojis, B. (1986). Sexual reproduction in Acropora (Isopora) (Coelenterata: Scleractinia). Mar. Biol. 91, 311–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nozawa, Y. (2012). Annual variation in the timing of coral spawning in a high-latitude environment: influence of temperature. Biol. Bull. 222, 192–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, J., Babcock, R., Harrison, P. & Willis, B. (1988). Geographic extent of mass coral spawning: clues to ultimate causal factors. In Proceedings of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium Townsville, Australia (eds Choat, J.H. & Barnes, D.), 2, 803–10.Google Scholar
Tarrant, A.M., Reitzel, A.M., Blomquist, C.H., Haller, F., Tokarz, J. & Adamski, J. (2009). Steroid metabolism in cnidarians: insights from Nematostella vectensis . Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 301, 27–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Twan, W-H., Hwang, J-S., Lee, Y-H., Wu, H-F., Tung, Y-H. & Chang, C-F. (2006). Hormones and reproduction in scleractinian corals. Comp. Biochem. Phys. A 144, 247–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Moorsel, G. (1983). Reproductive strategies in two closely related stony corals (Agaricia, Scleractinia). Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 13, 273–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Woesik, R. (2010). Calm before the spawn: global coral spawning patterns are explained by regional wind fields. Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B Bio. 277, 715–22.Google ScholarPubMed
van Woesik, R., Lacharmoise, F. & Köksal, S. (2006). Annual cycles of solar insolation predict spawning times of Caribbean corals. Ecol. Lett. 9, 390–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vargas-Ángel, B., Colley, S., Hoke, S.M. & Thomas, J. (2006). The reproductive seasonality and gametogenic cycle of Acropora cervicornis off Broward County, Florida, USA. Coral Reefs 25, 110–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar