Transcript Introduction Importance of Corals Coral Life Cycle Adult

Reproductive Ecology of Hawaiian Corals
Kathy Seiber
Tyler Takeashita
June-August 2005
National Science Foundation-Research Experience for Undergraduates
University of Hawaii at Hilo
Dr. Misaki Takabayashi
Sharon Ziegler-Chong
Introduction
Corals are the building blocks of tropical and subtropical shallow-water reefs, a very important
habitat in the ocean ecosystem. The dispersal of larvae over distances facilitates genetic mixing
between populations of coral reef organisms, hence enhancing genetic diversity within
populations. To understand the genetic flow among coral colonies more needs to be known about
coral larvae and larval ecology. The larvae are part of the planktonic community and their
dispersal is controlled by the ocean (Oliver et. al. 1991).
Planula larvae
Newly settled polyp
Adult colony spawning
To understand Hawaiian coral ecology work was and is currently being conducted on obtaining
spawning data for the Big Island, obtaining preliminary data on larval ecology, and developing a
molecular tagging method
Materials and Methods
Ways to Collect Coral Larvae
1. Collect Gametes during Spawning
Sites
-Kapoho
-Collected samples observed in lab
-HIMB (Coconut Island, Oahu)
2. Settlement Tiles
-Newly settled larvae
Sites
-Kapoho
-Leleiwi, Hilo Bay
3. Plankton tows
Site
-Leleiwi, Hilo Bay
Fixing processes:
Recently spawned coral larvae
-preserved in paraformaldehyde solution
Plankton tows
-Half of sample preserved in glutaraldehyde solution
for plankton counts
-Remaining half preserved in paraformaldehyde
solution for FISH analysis
Montipora patula
Montipora capitata
Porites compressa
Porites lobata
Results
1. Coral Larvae
-Spawning times that were previously known on
other islands were accurate for Montipora
flabellata during the June full moon and
accurate for M. capitata and M. patula during
the July full moon on the Island of Hawaii.
There was not any reported spawning of
Pavona varians, Porites compressa,
and P. lobata during the predicted times on
Hawaii.
2. Settlement Tiles
-Wait for 3 months for results
3. Plankton Counts
-Three Way ANOVA Results
Statistical test showed that the time of day and
before and after spawning did not affect the
plankton abundance but the abundance of
plankton varied based on the type with
phytoplankton having the highest abundance.
Copepods
Crustacean Larvae
Phytoplankton
Coral Spawning
-Times vary depending on location
-Corals may not have finished spawning for the year
Collection
-A combination of different methods are needed to successfully collect coral larvae
Plankton Tows
-No sampling at night so data is skewed
-The net was not big enough and the kayak was not moving fast enough to collect
all possible plankton types.
-Spawning in area was not confirmed and density of larvae may have been low.
In the future
-Test the molecular tag on collected samples.
-Study coral larvae ecology.
-Study genetic migration among coral colonies.
Fungia Scutaria
Pavona varians
© Gulko,
Coral
Reef
Ecology
Kapoho
Kapoho
Mollusks
Discussion and conclusions
Hilo
Bay
Leleiwi, Hilo Bay
Cnidarian Larvae
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology
Coconut Island, Oahu
Settlement Tile Trees
Acknowledgements
National Science Foundation (NSF) - Research Experience for
Undergraduates (REU)
Pacific Internships Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES)
University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH)
Dr. Misaki Takabayashi
Lisa Adams
Lauren Pagarigan
Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology (HIMB)
Dr. Evelyn Cox
Alu Lik’e Internship Program
Kui’ule
University of Queensland
Dr. Selina Ward