[Coral-List] captive spawning of Acropora cervicornis

[Hoffman, William]

Hello list,
I haven't noticed any this year, but usually by now researchers are busy posting the dates and times they observed their local Caribbean corals spawning.  While I don't get out in the field very often, I'm happy to report that I have photos and a video of a branch of Acropora cervicornis spawning in our Atlantic Coral reef Exhibit.    Gamete bundles were released just after 2 AM on August 11th.   The reason for the late gamete release is likely due to our skewed photoperiod.  Our "Sun" doesn't set until 10:30 EDT.  The corals were collected off Dania Beach in 2002 and are maintained in a closed system.  We vary the temperature seasonally by 2 C and the photoperiod by 2 hours.    I'd be happy to provide more information off-list if anyone is interested.

Regards,

Bill

Bill Hoffman
Smithsonian Marine Station
Marine Ecosystems Exhibit
701 Seaway Drive
Fort Pierce, FL  34949
Office:   (772)465-3271
Fax:        (772)465-3237
Mobile: (772)577-1091
www.sms.si.edu/smee<http://www.sms.si.edu/smee>