Potential bleaching effects on coral reproduction
Mary Hagedorn A B C , Virginia L. Carter A B , Claire Lager B , Julio F. Camperio Ciani A B , Alison N. Dygert A B , Reuben D. Schleiger A B and E. Michael Henley A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Reproductive Sciences, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute – National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA.
B Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: hagedornm@si.edu
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 28(8) 1061-1071 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD15526
Submitted: 12 December 2015 Accepted: 5 April 2016 Published: 17 June 2016
Journal Compilation © CSIRO Publishing 2016 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Bleaching profoundly impacts coral reproduction, often for years after an event. However, detailed reproductive characteristics of coral after bleaching have not been broadly described, especially as they relate to cryopreservation. Therefore, in the present study we measured several reproductive characteristics in coral in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, for two species, namely Fungia scutaria and Montipora capitata, during the bleaching period of 2014 and 2015. We examined spawning periods, egg morphometry, sperm concentration, fresh and cryopreserved sperm motility exposed to different concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide, time of first cleavage, larval survival with fresh and cryopreserved spermatozoa, infection success and settlement success. Many of these reproductive parameters were reduced in 2015, especially sperm motility. Once the reduced-motility spermatozoa from 2015 post-bleach were cryopreserved, there was a steep decline in post-thaw viability and this would prevent any substantive further use of these samples in reproduction for conservation benefit. Worldwide, as bleaching events become more frequent, the ability to bank and conserve coral ex situ may be significantly reduced. Thus, it is imperative that while genetic diversity is still high in these populations, intensive efforts are made to bank coral species during non-bleaching periods.
Additional keywords: cryopreservation, Fungia scutaria, Montipora capitata, sperm, Symbiodinium.
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