Montastrea spawning

[REEF003 at aol.com]

Dear spawning enthusiasts!,

Havn't seen much come accross the list about spawnig yet, so I thought I'd
start the ball rolling!

Last night, Aug 24, Montastrea sp. colonies were observed spawning in Key
Largo, FL.  Volunteer diverswitnessed the first bundles, still inside the
polyps, at 11:06pm.  At 11:15 the first spawning release was seen and both
fast and slow release from different colonies continued through 11:48.  The
majority of the activity took place between 11:20 and 11:40pm.  

The spawning activity witnessed by our group took place on the shoreward side
of Key Largo Dry Rocks in approx 12 feet of water. Sea conditions were less
than 1 foot, wind out of the east at approx 5-10 kts, skies clear to partly
cloudy, water temp approx. 86-87 degrees, very slight current to the north
(probably tidal).

Though many colonies were observed spawning last night, there were a number
of colonies that did not appear to have spawned.  I expect additional
spawning to occur tonight.  I'll keep you posted.

Laddie Akins
REEF