Synchronous mass spawning of Montastraea annularis (Ellis & Solander) and Montastraea faveolata (Ellis & Solander) (Faviidae : Scleractinia) at Rosario Islands, Caribbean Coast of Colombia
Ja. Sanchez et al., Synchronous mass spawning of Montastraea annularis (Ellis & Solander) and Montastraea faveolata (Ellis & Solander) (Faviidae : Scleractinia) at Rosario Islands, Caribbean Coast of Colombia, B MARIN SCI, 65(3), 1999, pp. 873-879
Montastraea annularis (Ellis & Solander, 1786) and Montastraea faveolata (E
llis & Solander, 1786), two hermaphrodite broadcasting species, are among t
he most important reef-building corals of the Caribbean. These species have
recently been separated, but this separation has been questioned. Spawning
of the two species was observed on the Caribbean coast of Colombia in 1997
, 6 and 7 d after the full moons from August to October in M. faveolata and
September to October in M. annularis. During three different nights in whi
ch mass spawning was observed, including the major event in September (appr
oximately 90% of all colonies spawned), these species were synchronous and
spawning started 2.5 h after sunset (40-50 min of time span). Additionally,
the same spawning behavior was observed once on October 1998. Timing recor
ds of 17 colonies in 1998, during the birth stage, indicate that M. annular
is colonies spawned longer (20:40-21:45) than M. faveolata (20:46-21:20). P
revious observations and our findings suggest that there is a great predict
ability in the number of days after full moon and of hours after sunset (6-
8 4 2-4 h), which has been concordant in all the localities. The spawning l
ength, whereas similar, has been variable (minutes to hours) among sites an
d years. A latent potential for hybridization between M. annularis and M. f
aveolata, as well as the variation in synchrony and time span, deserves add
itional investigation.