Rapid settlement in broadcast spawning corals: implications for larval dispersal

By K. Miller, C. Mundy. Coral reefs, 2003

177 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Broadcast spawning of gametes with planktonic development of larvae is the most common reproductive mode in tropical corals, and is generally thought to optimize the dispersal potential of larvae. To this end, many previous studies of coral larval dispersal have focused on the maximum time larvae can remain competent to settle and consequently how far they might disperse. However, dispersal ability of broadcast-spawned coral larvae will be linked, at least in part, to the minimum time to settlement competency as well as the length of the planktonic period—although estimates of minimum time to competency remain largely anecdotal, with few rigorous studies of the pre-competent period. To determine the minimum time to larval settlement in two species of broadcast-spawning coral (Platygyra daedalea and Goniastrea favulus), we monitored larval settlement rates in aquaria every 6 h from the time larvae commenced swimming (i.e. were ciliated, fully developed larvae) for a period of approximately 10 days. For P. daedalea, peak settlement occurred between 60 and 66 h following fertilization (2.5 and 2.75 days), which is markedly earlier than the 4- to 6-day time period commonly cited as the minimum time before broadcast-spawned coral larvae are competent to settle. Surprisingly, it was also clear from our experimental results that settlement in P. daedalea occurred as a distinct pulse during the 60- to 66-h period, rather than continuously throughout the study period. G. favulus larvae also appear to be able to settle quickly (from 54 h following fertilization). We argue, on the basis of these short competency times and apparently rapid settlement, that dispersal in broadcast-spawning coral larvae may not be as great as has previously been assumed.

Subfields: Ecology, Global and Planetary Change, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/61e8c6b7f218873ea47051ffde4518d58dfd8006

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Citations in the corpus

Resilience of coral communities on an isolated system of reefs following catastrophic mass-bleaching (2008, background): “…L1 -3 S L2 -2 S S 2- 1 S S 1- 3 S S 1- 1 S S 2- 2 S L2 -1 S L2 -3 S S 1- 2 P er ce nt ag e co ve r 0 20 40 60 80 100 Soft coral Sponge Algae Encrusting coral Foliaceous coral Massive coral competency periods for most coral larvae (Ayre and Hughes 2000; Nishikawa et al. 2003; Miller and Mundy 2003).”
Coral propagation: a review of techniques for ornamental trade and reef restoration (2017, background): “…Favia, Platygyra, Goniastrea) (Babcock & Heyward 1986; Heyward et al. 1987; Harrison & Wallace 1990; Heyward & Negri 1999; Isomura & Nishihira 2001; Miller & Mundy 2003; Nozawa & Harrison 2005; Wilson & Harrison 2005; Nozawa et al. 2006; Petersen et al. 2006; Gilmour et al. 2009; Gleason &…”
Larvae of Pocillopora damicornis (Anthozoa) settle and metamorphose in response to surface-biofilm bacteria (2011, background): “Miller & Mundy (2003) found that broadcast spawners may settle as soon as 2 to 3 d after fertilization.”
Larval retention and connectivity among populations of corals and reef fishes: history, advances and challenges (2009, background): “Direct observations of larval behavior (e.g., Leis and Carson-Ewart 1998; Leis 2002, 2006; Fisher et al. 2000; Miller and Mundy 2003; Leis et al. 2007; Graham et al. 2008), increasingly sophisticated biophysical models (e.g., Black et al. 1991; Schultz and Cowen 1994; Cowen et al. 2000, 2006; James…”
Genetic variation in responses to a settlement cue and elevated temperature in the reef-building coral Acropora millepora (2009, background): “For marine larvae in general, dispersal potential is correlated with the amount of time spent in the plankton (the pelagic larval duration, PLD) (Shanks et al. 2003).”
Causes of decoupling between larval supply and settlement and consequences for understanding recruitment and population connectivity (2010, background): “Precompetent period in other spawning coral is 2–4 days (Miller and Mundy, 2003).”
Biannual spawning, rapid larval development and evidence of self-seeding for scleractinian corals at an isolated system of reefs (2009, background): “There is, however, increasing evidence, particularly from genetic analyses, that over ecological time scales coral larvae may routinely disperse within their natal reef or among nearby reefs up to tens of kilometers away (e.g., Ayre and Hughes 2000; Miller and Mundy 2003; Whitaker 2004; Harrison 2”
Survival dynamics of scleractinian coral larvae and implications for dispersal (2008, unknown): “Thus, the majority of successful recruitment is likely to involve settlement on natal or neighbouring reefs, particularly given that most larvae become competent to settle quickly, within a few days after spawning (Baird 2001; Miller and Mundy 2003).”
Isolation by distance in the scleractinian coral Seriatopora hystrix from the Red Sea (2005, background): “Recent laboratory-based studies have shown that the timing of settlement in brooders versus broadcast spawners is not necessarily all that different (Miller and Mundy 2003) and that at least some broadcast spawners may have longer competency periods than brooders (Nishikawa et al. 2003).”
Substrate composition and adult distribution determine recruitment patterns in a Caribbean brooding coral (2005, background): “Besides environmental factors, recruitment success and pattern depend on a planula’s behavior (Butman 1987, Isomura & Nishihira 2001, Miller & Mundy 2003) and the presence of adult colonies (Polachek & Stimson 1994, Fearon & Cameron 1997).”
Plasticity of larval pre-competency in response to temperature: observations on multiple broadcast spawning coral species (2010, background): “The planulae of some species of brooding corals can settle immediately following release from the parent colony (Harrison and Wallace 1990), while broadcast spawning species typically take 2–5 days before they can settle (e.g., Babcock and Heyward 1986; Miller and Mundy 2003).”
Reproduction and recruitment of scleractinian corals in a high-latitude coral community, Amakusa, southwestern Japan (2006, background): “The patterns of larval attachment and settlement in the three species were similar to those for other species from low latitudes (Nozawa and Harrison 2002, 2005; Miller and Mundy 2003), except the larval settlement pattern of A.”
New perspectives on ecological mechanisms affecting coral recruitment on reefs (2008, background): “…spawning corals Platygyra daedalea and Goniastrea favulus can settle between 2 and 3 days after fertilization, which is sooner than some brooding corals, suggesting that dispersal of these species might be of shorter duration than has been assumed from survival estimates (Miller and Mundy, 2003).”