Peter Vize, University of Calgary: Entrained and Non-entrained Processes Regulating Broadcast Spawning Behavior in Tropical Corals

Date:Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time:4:00 PM
Place:2040 Valley Life Sciences Building
Format:IB Seminar
Sponsors:Robert Dudley
Broadcast spawning corals release gametes into the oceans with extraordinarily accurate timing. In the Caribbean most coral species spawn on a single night for only 30 minutes just once per year and individuals that spawn outside of this window have vastly lowered reproductive success. The accuracy of this timing is achieved by integrating at least three different environmental signals. The month is set by annual weather patterns, the date of spawning is set by the lunar cycle and the hour and minute of spawning is set by the solar cycle. Our research is exploring the biology of these different systems and whether they are regulated by entrained processes or if they are directly responsive to the environment. Changes in spawn timing play a key role in coral speciation and understanding these systems will not only help us understand coral reproduction, they will also offer insights into the evolution of this extraordinary group of animals.