Tom Shlesinger1, Yossi Loya2. 1. School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel tomshlez@gmail.com. 2. School of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel.
Abstract
The impacts of human and natural disturbances on coral reefs are typically quantified through visible damage (e.g., reduced coral coverage as a result of bleaching events), but changes in environmental conditions may also cause damage in less visible ways. Despite the current paradigm, which suggests consistent, highly synchronized spawning events, corals that reproduce by broadcast spawning are particularly vulnerable because their reproductive phenology is governed by environmental cues. Here, we quantify coral spawning intensity during four annual reproductive seasons, alongside laboratory analyses at the polyp, colony, and population levels, and we demonstrate that, compared with historical data, several species from the Red Sea have lost their reproductive synchrony. Ultimately, such a synchrony breakdown reduces the probability of successful fertilization, leading to a dearth of new recruits, which may drive aging populations to extinction.
The impacts of human and natural disturbances on coral reefs are typically quantified through visible damage (e.g., reduced coral coverage as a result of bleaching events), but changes in environmental conditions may also cause damage in less visible ways. Despite the current paradigm, which suggests consistent, highly synchronized spawning events, corals that reproduce by broadcast spawning are particularly vulnerable because their reproductive phenology is governed by environmental cues. Here, we quantify coral spawning intensity during four annual reproductive seasons, alongside laboratory analyses at the polyp, colony, and population levels, and we demonstrate that, compared with historical data, several species from the Red Sea have lost their reproductive synchrony. Ultimately, such a synchrony breakdown reduces the probability of successful fertilization, leading to a dearth of new recruits, which may drive aging populations to extinction.
Authors: Joey R Bernhardt; Mary I O'Connor; Jennifer M Sunday; Andrew Gonzalez Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2020-11-02 Impact factor: 6.237
Authors: Andrew H Baird; James R Guest; Alasdair J Edwards; Andrew G Bauman; Jessica Bouwmeester; Hanaka Mera; David Abrego; Mariana Alvarez-Noriega; Russel C Babcock; Miguel B Barbosa; Victor Bonito; John Burt; Patrick C Cabaitan; Ching-Fong Chang; Suchana Chavanich; Chaolun A Chen; Chieh-Jhen Chen; Wei-Jen Chen; Fung-Chen Chung; Sean R Connolly; Vivian R Cumbo; Maria Dornelas; Christopher Doropoulos; Gal Eyal; Lee Eyal-Shaham; Nur Fadli; Joana Figueiredo; Jean-François Flot; Sze-Hoon Gan; Elizabeth Gomez; Erin M Graham; Mila Grinblat; Nataly Gutiérrez-Isaza; Saki Harii; Peter L Harrison; Masayuki Hatta; Nina Ann Jin Ho; Gaetan Hoarau; Mia Hoogenboom; Emily J Howells; Akira Iguchi; Naoko Isomura; Emmeline A Jamodiong; Suppakarn Jandang; Jude Keyse; Seiya Kitanobo; Narinratana Kongjandtre; Chao-Yang Kuo; Charlon Ligson; Che-Hung Lin; Jeffrey Low; Yossi Loya; Elizaldy A Maboloc; Joshua S Madin; Takuma Mezaki; Choo Min; Masaya Morita; Aurelie Moya; Su-Hwei Neo; Matthew R Nitschke; Satoshi Nojima; Yoko Nozawa; Srisakul Piromvaragorn; Sakanan Plathong; Eneour Puill-Stephan; Kate Quigley; Catalina Ramirez-Portilla; Gerard Ricardo; Kazuhiko Sakai; Eugenia Sampayo; Tom Shlesinger; Leony Sikim; Chris Simpson; Carrie A Sims; Frederic Sinniger; Davies A Spiji; Tracy Tabalanza; Chung-Hong Tan; Tullia I Terraneo; Gergely Torda; James True; Karenne Tun; Kareen Vicentuan; Voranop Viyakarn; Zarinah Waheed; Selina Ward; Bette Willis; Rachael M Woods; Erika S Woolsey; Hiromi H Yamamoto; Syafyudin Yusuf Journal: Sci Data Date: 2021-01-29 Impact factor: 6.444
Authors: Sebastian G Gornik; Bruno Gideon Bergheim; Benoit Morel; Alexandros Stamatakis; Nicholas S Foulkes; Annika Guse Journal: Mol Biol Evol Date: 2021-05-04 Impact factor: 16.240