Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Coral spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature
AU - Keith, Sal
AU - Maynard, Jeffrey
AU - Edwards, Andrew
AU - Guest, James
AU - Bauman, Andrew
AU - van Hooidonk, Ruben
AU - Heron, Scott
AU - Berumen, Michael
AU - Bouwmeester, Jessica
AU - Piromvaragorn, Srisakul
AU - Rahbek, Carsten
AU - Baird, Andrew
PY - 2016/5/11
Y1 - 2016/5/11
N2 - Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R2 = 0.73, peak: R2 = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.
AB - Coral spawning times have been linked to multiple environmental factors; however, to what extent these factors act as generalized cues across multiple species and large spatial scales is unknown. We used a unique dataset of coral spawning from 34 reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to test if month of spawning and peak spawning month in assemblages of Acropora spp. can be predicted by sea surface temperature (SST), photosynthetically available radiation, wind speed, current speed, rainfall or sunset time. Contrary to the classic view that high mean SST initiates coral spawning, we found rapid increases in SST to be the best predictor in both cases (month of spawning: R2 = 0.73, peak: R2 = 0.62). Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. We hypothesize that coral spawning is ultimately timed to ensure optimal fertilization success.
KW - phenology
KW - reproduction
KW - biogeography
KW - macroecology
KW - Acropora
KW - Indo-Pacific
U2 - 10.1098/rspb.2016.0011
DO - 10.1098/rspb.2016.0011
M3 - Journal article
VL - 283
JO - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
SN - 0962-8452
IS - 1830
M1 - 20160011
ER -