[Coral-List] Acropora palmata spawning, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico

[Pascal MEGE]

Hi coral listers,

For the Acropora palmata spawning event, we were at the same Vega Baja
reef (Puerto Rico) where we observed abundant spawning last year.
Unfortunately this year was not so lucky. We went out once on July
11th (5th night after the full moon) but no bundles were observed.
>From Saturday 7th (2nd day after the full moon) to Thursday 13th of
August (8th day) included, our little group of 4 or 5 kept an eye for
bundle releases from 9 to 10 pm.

We had no luck at all from the 7th to the 10th, with no observed
bundles whatsoever. Tuesday 11th was our (somewhat) lucky day since we
could observe spawning from one colony (started at 9:40 pm), with >50%
of the branches actively spawning. There was also a few other bundles
coming from another side of the reef but the source could not be
identified. Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13 rd were two equally
frustrating days since few bundles could be observed above the reef
but yet again, the source remained undiscovered.

It is hard to tell why this apparently healthy thicket had very
limited spawning until now, especially when compared to the posts from
Rincon. There may be a hint in the recent sedimentation event caused
by the restructuration of the nearby municipal beach, which seems to
also be the cause of important algal growth around the thicket.

Let’s hope September will bring us what we were waiting for though!

Cheers,

Pascal