title: The reproductive season of Acropora in Socotra, Yemen.
abstract: Determining when corals reproduce has clear management and economic implications. Here we document the reproductive condition of corals in the genus Acropora on the island of Socotra in Yemen during February 2014. Twenty percent of colonies (n = 143) contained mature gametes and 28% had immature gametes indicating that spawning will occur in both February and March in 2014, confirming previous anecdotal reports of coral spawning at this time in Socotra. Acropora typically reproduce in synchrony with many other broadcast spawning scleractinian corals, and we therefore predict that many other species are reproductively active at this time of year.
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Science and Public Health, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abrego
authors.affiliation: New York University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Howells
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors.forename: Vivian R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Cumbo
references.citation: Science. 1984 Mar 16;223(4641):1186-9
references.pmid: 17742935